Stay with Me
by animefanxxx
Summary: Living as a lost wanderer Orihime Inoue meets the celebrity Ulquiorra who begs her to pretend to be his wife for the sake of his family. But will their love begin to bloom as they continue to live together? Ulquihime and other major pairings.
1. The Beginning

**A/N: **Hello, I'm animefanxxx and this is my first Ulquihime fic! In this fic Orihime isn't going to be the Orihime we know now. I have managed t retain Ulquiorra's original personality yet also make him a bit naughty. This is a darkfic.

A shorter summary of this fic is when Orihime, a broke woman, embarks on a journey to find a job that pays well to keep her alove only to meet a famous celebrity, Ulquiorra Schiffer. After their third meeting he begs her to become his pretend wife for 6 months in order to please his mother and keep his grandmother (diagnosed with cancer) happy. They are forced to love together and overcome the problems that they face together. But soon they begin to fall for each other. Will Orihime be able to let go when the 6 months deal is up?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach or any of it's characters.

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

"Name?"

"Orihime Inoue."

"Age?"

"Twenty one."

"Hmm young, still young." the busty blond mumbled thoughtfully. "Alrighty ho...Address?"

"The streets..." Orihime muttered inaudibly whilst fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. Her nerves were getting the better if her_, great just what she needed... and in an important time like this too!_

The blond burst out into laughter, the traces of her thick cowboy accent still was audible, she had to clutch her belly to prevent her sides from splitting in half, _literally..._"You're funny!" she giggled patting Orihime on the shoulder with so much force Orihime almost choked. She laughed nervously, "Uh...hahaha..."

The blond regained her composure and looked Orihime dead in the eye, "But seriously sweety, Address?"

Orihime couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the way the blond leaned over the desk, or the way she 'miraculously' recovered from her laughing fit in a blink of an eye. There was no way in hell she was gonna tell her, her address. "Well... I haven't really memorized it yet..." Orihime lied.

"You ain't memorized your own address? Where on earth did you get educated?" she placed her hands on her hips.

"I had a year of high school..." Orihime said hopefully.

"A year of high school...nuh uh honey bean, I don't think you're cut out to be a bar tenant or waitress... sorry to break it to ya..." she shook her head in disappointment.

"I see... well it was worth a try!" Orihime clapped her hands together and stood up from her chair. "A pleasure meeting you." She extended her hand, a fake smile plastered onto her face. The blond smiled apologetically and shook it. With that Orihime left the office swinging the door open and slamming it back with all her might.

"Stupid shit, waste of my bloody time." Orihime sighed as she reached for her cigarettes which were hidden beneath all the crap she kept hidden her black handbag. Being poor really sucked in life for Orihime _it showed. _She had to cope with this shit for 10 years of her life until the grand age of 21. Now all she had to do was find a job that paid well and it wasn't easy, especially since Orihime never got to graduate from high school, college or University. The front door was just a few metres ahead, Orihime couldn't wait to get out of the stuffy restaurant and smoke that cigarette which was currently unlit in her hand. She heard someone yell her name. No doubt it was the Blondie, anyone could tell from that annoying accent. Ooooohhhh maybe she was coming back to beg for her help, in that case Orihime decided to make her beg for it!

"Sugar! You forgot your purse!"

_Sugar? _Seriously the lady needed to lay off the nicknames. Orihime turned around slowly so she had just enough time to re-plaster that fake smile she had on before.

"_Thank _you sooooo much." She muttered through gritted teeth, swiping her purse out of the lady's hand. _Damn nation! _Who was she kidding? She was never gonna find a job and the same situation applied for finding a partner who DIDN'T just use her for her body. She had , had many experiences with men but usually they dumped her because she refused to sleep with them. Orihime was never left heartbroken though. The double chocolate chip coated caramel nuts made up for it.

Tonight she was going to get really drunk, she didn't care if the people around her were still sober she just wanted to clear her head and fall asleep without a care where she was sleeping, whether it was in a garbage can or in some dogs shit. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan... Orihime left the restaurant muttering curses on her way.

The high street was pretty busy, well today was an "important" day to many people; it was Ulquiorra Schiffer's 50th concert. Anyone who didn't know Ulquiorra Schiffer was an _idiot._ Orihime knew that he was a serious piano prodigy, women all over the world lusted for him. It was sickening...well actually it was quite entertaining watching his fans rip each other limb by limb just so they could see him and it was quite fun to rebel against them. Orihime smiled at the thought, she remembered once she told an "Ulqui" fan that he was a sore loser who needed to get a life. After that comment all people who were in the same room, swivelled their heads around to look at Orihime, who paid no attention to what was happening. "What. Did. You. Say?" the fan asked.

"The bastard needs to get a life, I mean seriously that wanna be boner is such a-" she was cut off when she looked at their face, they were glaring. If looks could kill Orihime would've been toast.

"I mean, Ulquiorra is the best!" Orihime smiled putting her thumbs up in a failed attempt to calm their nerves down. All the girls approached her slowly a bit like hungry lions circling a piece of meat. Orihime backed away; she was going to leg it. Around now their nostrils were flaring up like pig noses. The girl Orihime was talking to, approached her, "Did you just call him by his name?"

Unwisely Orihime answered back "Yeah."

Then all hell broke loose.

"Get her ladies!" a brunette commanded. Orihime ran for her life. After hiding in a dustbin she vowed never to go to that bar again. How was she supposed to know it was loaded with fan girls?

That memory was one of Orihime's personal favourites.

It was getting late probably around 7pm. The pub would be open and it wasn't far from the current district Orihime was in. The cold air almost seemed like it was going to freeze and the fact that she was wearing a mini skirt didn't help, her frantic eyes searched around to see any bars in the area and in her favour there was. It looked like a fairly decent place to drink alcohol in and it didn't look busy at the moment. The wind was howling and the air was lowering its temperature dramatically, Orihime shivered, she had no choice but to go in. As she swung the eroded piece of wood open she noticed several maids working, by definition work was flirting with men?

"Shit.", she groaned knowing that it was one of _those _bars. The maid in purple was tickling a man under his chin and my god was he tall! His jacket hoodie resembled a spoon. He grinned; she let out a flirt-ish giggle, "Oh Master Jiruga."

Orihime cringed at the sight.

"May I be of assistance?"

Ripping her eyes away from the scene she turned her head to the right. A well built man was sitting on a red couch; arms outstretched holding two flirting maids in place. He had a grin that was so wide it seemed it was slashed across his face by a knife. He had blue hair that stuck upright and several strands that ran down his forehead. Orihime opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off.

"You don't look like a bad ass. Why exactly are you here?"

Thinking hard for answer the only thing that came into mind was something to do with getting a job here. Well considering her situation it wasn't a bad idea.

"I'm here for a job interview."

The man cocked up an eyebrow, "Job interview?"

There was an awkward silence until the man broke it; he turned to the maid dressed in black. "Loly go and get the lady a drink."

The maid hesitated before removing herself from his lap "As you wish, Master Jeagerjaques." Obediently she headed to the bar and pulled out some whiskey. Orihime watched as she removed the cork lid with a loud POP before pouring it in a cocktail glass and mixing it with some other unknown alcohol. Master Jeagerjaques on the other hand was watching Orihime intently, a small smirk never faltered from his face, elbows on his knees, palms underneath his chin, maid by his side biting his earlobe. One could say he was _interested_ in Orihime Inoue. Loly lumbered over and set the glass down on the table in front of Orihime, who still didn't know Jeagerjaques was looking at her.

"Your drink." Loly grunted.

"Thanks."

Jeagerjaques signalled for Loly and the other maid to leave him alone and they left without a word. "You want a job here?"

"Yeah. Isn't it obvious? I said it before."

He chugged some of his own drink down and wiped his lips with his sleeve. "You do know what kind if bar this is? Don't you?"

"I didn't _need_ to know. I_ saw_."She pointed out.

Jeagerjaques chuckled slightly, "Observant, aren't you?"

"I wasn't observing. The scene was merely right before my eyes."

He chuckled again, "Touché."

Inpatient as the person she was she asked, "Now can I get a job or no?"

"It depends, sweetheart..." he grinned. Orihime scrunched her nose up in disgust when she heard the new nickname he'd given her. Sweetheart. _Sweetheart my arse. _She thought irritably.

"I don't know how good you are with a job like this but you certainly _look_ the job..." His eyes skimmed down from her face to her enormous chest. He licked his moist pink lips.

"Oh I'll be good at this job alright."

"Confident. I like women like that. Want to serve me first?" He asked.

"Fat chance blueberry."

He grinned, "Feisty bitch, aren't ya?"

"No. You're just being cocky."

His grim stretched into a smirk, "Alright your shift starts tomorrow morning. Loly will hand you a uniform. From now on you're the white maid. Don't be late."

"I won't."

"Loly! The uniform!"

As if on cue, Loly appeared from behind with a white frilly uniform in her hands. She handed it to Orihime who took it unwillingly.

"I look forward to seeing you." He purred. His eyes lumbered to her untouched crystal cup filled to the brim with alcohol. It glinted in the lights that reflected on it. "You haven't touched your cocktail."

Orihime picked up the glass cup ungraciously and drank the cocktail up in one go, she let out a sigh before slamming the cup back down onto the wooden table. "Happy?"

"You didn't tell me your name."

"And you didn't tell me yours, so why should I?"

_Clever bitch _he thought,_ "_Grimmjow Jeagerjaques."

"Orihime Inoue." Then she walked out the door leaving Grimmjow left to ponder over the mysterious women he just met.

He muttered under his breath so no one could hear. "Damn. That body was a fuckin' killer. I need a cold shower."

Orihime was getting luckier just after 9:00pm. She'd already got hired for two jobs and now she found a pub she could drink in. It was run by a man with (strangely) slit eyes and silver hair. He also had a smile that reached the corners of his cheeks, which Orihime found the creepiest out of all his facial features. Was it just her or did everyone in this district have smiles that reached the corners of the earth.

"Don't cha think ya drinkin' a bi' too much?" He asked her as he cleaned several pint glasses. After drinking at least 2 pints of lager a person would bound to be drunk by now, Orihime certainly was. She waved her hand, "Nah." Her speech slurred slightly and she almost fell of the high stool she was sitting on due to the alcohol finally going to her brain and affecting her balance. His smile faltered into a frown. "No I think ya should stop drinkin' now." He snatched the beer bottle out of her hand. It was easy as snatching candy from a child.

"I paid for that! Give it back!" she yelled in frustration. Desperate for the bitter taste of the alcohol her hands grasped everything they came across, she couldn't see anything in front of her or hear what was going on around her properly. Fingers splayed and still fumbling about, she let out a desperate moan as if she were a baby demanding for milk. People around her snapped their heads in her direction and watched as she continued to act like a spoiled brat.

The man leaned over and whispered "Ma'am could ya be a little quieter, tha customers are gettin' a bi' annoyed with ya whinin'."

"I don't want to..." Orihime whimpered her eye lids half closed, head laying on the counter.

"Don't want to what?"

"I don't want to..."Orihime whispered. Her vision was blackening. Any minute now she knew she was going to pass out. Her arms stopped flailing around.

"Ma'am, are you okay? Ma'am?" the man shook her violently. Orihime could no longer hear his voice in the background. His lips were moving but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Was he telling her to get out? Slowly she lifted her head up and hoisted herself off the high stool wobbling a bit during the process. Someone grabbed her arm, she looked up and found it was the bar tenant. He wasn't grinning his usual way instead she found him frowning at her. She smiled weakly at him, "I know..."

He gave her a confused look and said something in reply to her short sentence his hand tightened around her arm. Orihime couldn't hear what he was saying so she tightly squinted her eyes and tried to lip read. It didn't work. Not knowing what to do, she nodded at him. He gave her a worried expression but let her arm go. Almost instantly she nearly fell but caught her balance. The black stilettos weren't helping her current situation but that was life. Nothing helped. "_Mental note: Don't wear high heels when you decide to get drunk" _she thought to herself. Stumbling towards the door she found herself tripping up ever so slightly. Her hands reached out to push the huge pieces of wood aside making a cool gush of wind from outside sweep her auburn hair back. Her feet started moving on her own accord and she found herself following were they were taking her. Being drunk had its downside's as well as its over the moon days. One downside was that it left people feeling terribly ill if consumed too much alcohol and another was the hangovers it gave you in the morning. Orihime continued walking for at least for a good five minutes before she collapsed onto the pavement. Orihime didn't know how long she was lying down for but in her last minutes of being slightly awake she felt strong arms encircle her waist, her head was being lifted up by someone. Cold fingers held her check tenderly and moved down to her throat where they pushed down with more pressure. Then some movement. This _someone_ was taking her somewhere. Too tired to stay awake any longer or care what this person was doing to do with her Orihime dozed off into a deep sleep.

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**A/N: **Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter :D please review!

Next Chapter: Orihime meets 'the celebrity' without realising... DRAMA!


	2. First Impressions

**A/N: **Just completed chapter 3 of this story and boy does the drama get tense afterwards! Hopefully this chapter is good too. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 2: First impressions**

Orihime woke up feeling like shit. Never in her life had she wanted to vomit so badly. The sun rays that shone out through the gaps in the green curtains weren't helping matters either. Rubbing her head with her palms, sat up and leant back on the headboards. What was she doing yesterday to make her feel like she was tortured today? Thinking hard she stared out at the windows, her eyes ever so slightly open. Then realization hit her. Eyes widening from shock. _She was in someone's room. _Letting out an ear piercing scream without hesitation she began panicking and thrashing around under the blankets, maybe a bit too much. After a few seconds she calmed down, sure, she was in a person's room but that didn't mean anything did it? Then she noticed she was dressed in silk clothing that revealed a lot of her body, what if she was raped whilst unconscious? That would explain the pain in her legs but yet again that could have been because of the way she walked last night.

Trying to piece the puzzles together she started jumping to stupid conclusions like _What if I'm in heaven? _Pinching herself to check if it was a dream she found that it wasn't much to her dismay. This was reality.

_Okay Hime were going to get changed and leave this house quietly_. Grabbing her clothes from the end of the bed she began speed changing, as she yanked her jeans up her stomach let a loud rumble. _Scratch that, we're going to eat something first and then leave. _She knew it was wrong to steal but it technically wasn't. Opening the door it revealed a large hallway, Orihime was speechless her jaw dropped to the ground, was she in the White house or something? The floor was boarded with rich wood and marble pillars held up the pure white ceiling. She felt like a princess, what if she was some sort of lost daughter of a royal family from a secret unknown country that hadn't been discovered yet?

She began walking down the corridor and peaked through other rooms. Large Crystal chandeliers hung above every room she passed and they glinted like diamonds. Pushing a large door open she saw lots of furniture. The sofa was HUGE in a creamy white colour and there was a large flat screen telly in the corner. Orihime assumed that this was the living room. A glass table was on the right side with several chairs tucked neatly beneath it, the carpet was fluffy it was like sheep wool. If her assumption was correct it was too fucking big, too fucking good to be true. It almost made Orihime cry to tear her eyes away from the whole scene.

It was a good 25 minutes before Orihime found the kitchen. There were so many rooms in the house (or castle as she believed it was) that she simply got lost. She decided that she was going to give herself a tutorial around the house and each time she found herself mesmerized by the contents inside the rooms. Even the toilets were fascinating to look at. Desperate for the taste of food Orihime pulled opened the fridge and found that it was _loaded_ with foods of all kinds. Instantly she began raiding for more in the cupboards, in the end she had gathered 3 Kit Kat bars, two tubs of vanilla ice cream (Ben & Jerry's – her favourite brand), some leftover green salad alongside chicken, crisps, salami, bread and some mineral water. Placing the food down the dining table she began stuffing herself with the most glorious food she had ever tasted. They had a unique taste to them, different from shop brought food somehow. She forgot all about what she told herself today which was that she was going to leave. Too lost in the sensation she didn't notice a man standing by the kitchen doorway. He interrupted her, "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Orihime nodded with a face full of food, a particularly unattractive sight for the man. "You must be the servant right? Can you get me some more water? I'm kind of struggling here."

_Servant! Nobody has the right to treat me like a slave here! But wait! This is good. She doesn't know who I am. _He thought. Wedging his hands into his jean pockets he walked forward towards Orihime's extended hand. "Slave? Who's the slave?"

Orihime looked up at him. "You are, aren't you?" His appearance didn't look like he owned this house. In fact he looked pretty trampy in Orihime's eyes, but another thing was he was awfully skinny even with a huge amount of food in this house. If he was more muscular like the Grimmjow guy Orihime would've totally been convinced, but he wasn't and he wasn't that tall either. He looked familiar.

"No I'm not. I'm the owner of this house." He stated blankly.

Orihime blinked a few times, unable to comprehend what he said and then she cracked up.

"Owner of this house! Owner of the house!" She laughed. After rolling on the floor she sat up and took some deep breaths in and fought the urge to laugh.

"I don't see what was so funny."

"Owner of the house..." she paused for a bit to contain her laughing which threatened to spill from her lips. "...was what was so funny."

"I'm still unable to understand."

"It...Doesn't matter. Are you really the owner?"

"I believe I made myself quite clear. I was the one who brought you here after I found you unconscious on the streets. Women like you shouldn't consume too much alcohol."

Orihime stood up and scratch the back of her head, "Ah... well about that..."

"It's too late to fix it anyway. Here take a leaflet." He grabbed something from the kitchen counter and handed it to her. Orihime took it and read the title it said: How to beat your alcohol addiction.

"I highly recommend you go to one of those classes. It helped a friend of mine."

Orihime protested, "I DO NOT have an alcohol addiction. For your information Mr..." Orihime struggled to remember his name but realised he hadn't actually introduced himself yet.

"Schiffer."

"Oh... For your information Mr Schiffer I only drink when I've worked my ass off or when I'm depressed. It IS NOT an alcohol addiction and for further information, I was in fact working my ass off."

Schiffer remained unaffected by her words. "I believe it is. You still _reek_ of alcohol."

Orihime sniffed her hands and wrinkled her nose in disgust. He was right. She _stunk_ of alcohol.

Schiffer watched her facial expression and when he saw her nose crinkle he knew she knew his words were correct. "You may take a shower if you wish."

"Can I?"

"Yes-"

Orihime happily interrupted, "Oh! That's great where is it?"

"I didn't finish my sentence. As I was saying before, yes, however you have to clean that mess up." He pointed his long bony finger towards the pile of mess Orihime had left on the table. Orihime's jaw dropped. She pointed a shaky finger at the pile of rubbish, "All of that?"

"Yes. Though you may be a guest you still have to pay me back some money."

"How much?"

"Well I washed your clothing with an expensive type of washing up powder that costs £50 per gram. I used up 2 grams so that makes it £100. For staying in my guest room the rent is £10,000 per night. The food you ate was top quality food worth up to, in total, £800 pounds. The silk pyjamas you were wearing were designed by Chanel; it's made of real silk so that costs £200. I think that's it. Oh wait you're on your way to have a shower aren't you? So that will be £500. In total you owe me £11,600."

Orihime's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Is there something wrong with your jaw? It keeps dropping. I can pay for surgery but then you owe me an extra £100,000." Schiffer said as he stared at Orihime's frozen form.

"£11,600..." Orihime's voice was barely audible but it was loud enough for him to hear it.

"Yes, well to be more accurate you have to tip me for good hospitality so it's actually £11,600.80."

Orihime's head dropped. For a moment Schiffer thought she had broken her neck but then her shoulders started quivering. There was a slight chuckling coming from her lips, "£11,600..." she repeated a little stronger than before.

"And 80p." He added.

"£11,600..." she raised her head and roared, "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! £11,600!"

Schiffer swore he saw the flames of hell rise up around her as she grew taller, if possible... He seemed to shrink under her fiery gaze.

"I AM NOT PAYING YOU £11,600 BULL SHIT POUNDS!"

Conjuring up his courage he managed to squeak, "I'll minus the £600.80."

"BULL SHIT THE MONEY. I AM STILL NOT GIVING YOU A PENNY."

Schiffer shrunk smaller than before. Orihime stormed past him and yelled, "I'M GOING TO TAKE A SHOWER."

Schiffer watched as she went into the study rather than the bathroom.

"FUCKING ROOM!" He heard her curse loudly, and then she walked out and stomped over to the other side of the hallway to the bathroom before slamming the door violently.

Orihime wondered whether she over reacted too much or whether she was taking advantage of Schiffer. He seemed intimidated a little by her yelling but who wouldn't be. Taking her clothes off she stepped into the shower and switched on the water full blast.

Orihime remembered how different she was today than when she was younger, back then she was so pure, too innocent. Her heart was easily crushed on and she felt helpless. Until finally it was Ichigo Kurosaki who changed her into a stronger person. Orihime grew to love him in the past year he helped her but she was too scared to admit it or confess it. One day, plucking up the courage to tell him she boldly walked up to him, only then to be told that he was going to get married. Her heart shattered like a mirror and when she found out he was marrying Rukia Kuchiki her heart dissolved into ash. Forcing a smile on her face she congratulated the pair before turning away and telling herself not to cry. On the same night she decided to quit high school and never to turn to Ichigo again, she changed her personality and booked the first flight to America. In the morning all her friends found out she disappeared they searched for her but never found her. She was gone, forever...

Orihime switched the shower off and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. She thought about her new 'debt' problem and how she could pay it back. No matter how hard she thought there wasn't a simple solution. If Schiffer was telling the truth about the expensive crap she would have to pay it off or she might get beat up by body guards (if he had some). After putting her clothes back on she opened the door slowly to check if he was still there. He wasn't slowly she crept out and slowly walked backwards down the hallway. She bumped into something or rather _someone _turning around she found it was _him._ He looked at her, emotionless. Was he unaffected after her yelling? Wow this man really was something new...

"I'm really sorry for err... losing it earlier." She bowed awkwardly. He stared at her bent form.

"It's okay. I understand, any lady would snap at me if I said that. I was being a bit selfish back there." He quickly bowed in return and stood back up straight.

"I'm really sorry. Right now I'm broke so I can't pay you the money now."

His eyes widened, "You're broke?"

"Yeah. I found 3 jobs yesterday so I took the chance to earn money. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"You're _that_ broke that you took 3 jobs?"

"Yeah, I spent the remainder of my money on cigarettes and alcohol yesterday."

Schiffer stared at her in shock. She looked like someone who had a stable job but if he had known she was broke he wouldn't of suggested about paying money back. She didn't look troubled by any of this and she certainly didn't look like she smoked. Schiffer felt slightly guilty and sorry for the auburn haired woman.

"Don't you have a family you can rely on?"

She hesitated before answering, "No. They were all murdered when I was young."

Again Schiffer was shocked. She was still strong enough to live alone and find her own path; most women would've committed suicide. He looked at her hurt expression which soon dissolved into a smile.

"Well I'm going to tidy up the mess I made and then I'll leave."

"It's okay I cleaned it up already."

Orihime smiled, "Well I guess I'll get going then. Thank you for your... hospitality, and for saving me."

Schiffer watched as she walked into a door. He almost spluttered out laughing. Her face was flushed red as she nervously laughed and turned back to try and find the exit. She disappeared from his view but the door clicking back in place confirmed she had left. All of a sudden it seemed to quiet.

"I hate feeling guilty." He muttered to himself before rolling his shoulders and turning to go take a shower.

As soon as Orihime got out she ran for her life without turning back. After all she was still embarrassed about how she clumsily bumped into the door. Those piercing green eyes scared her half to death when she crashed into him but they seemed familiar. She had sworn she'd seen him somewhere before. She hadn't really asked for his first name and he didn't know hers. That introduction probably left a bad impression on her, well to start off with she never really was good at this sort of thing. Being rude was one of Orihime's highlights, it made her,_ her_, as cheesy as that sounded.

Orihime walked into the high streets not knowing where she was going. That's right; she didn't even ask the green eyed man where this area was. That's another one of her traits. Forgetting important information. Looking around the shops and streets she found that it was the richest area out of all the districts. This was the Hueco Mundo district, the very first district to be built.

The government had decided that the nation needed to be divided by determining how rich you were. Altogether there were 13 districts, 1 being the richest district and 13 being the poorest. Each district had a leader but because of a slipup caused by districts 3, 5 and 9 those leaders were fired, which currently left those districts in havoc. Lots of people (from each district) where signing up for the vacant job. The slipup that was caused in the first place was something about a document that was meant to be kept secret from what Orihime heard. Apparently, according to the leaked information, there were 2 more districts numbered 0 and 14. District 0 was home to a royal family whilst District 14 was a secret spy organization that specialized making weapons and hand combat.

As far as Orihime knew district 0 was only a legend and district 14 was bombed up by a group of idiot terrorist's years ago, however if the government were trying to cover it up did that mean they existed? Orihime didn't let the matter bother her any further and set onto the task of figuring out how to get home. _Now which way is district 13?_

_

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A/N: OOOOHHH, temper, temper got the better of Hime. I think Ulquiorra already likes her ;D

Next Chapter: Orihime's first day of work but who's her first customer?


	3. Hand her over

**A/N: **The drama starts soon!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 3: Hand her over**

"You're late."

"I... know...I... ran as...fast... as I...could..." Orihime panted, figure bent and hands pressed on her knees to keep herself from falling over from exhaustion

"You said you weren't gonna be late."

"Complications... arose..." she said trying to catch her breath. "Geez...I need water..."

Grimmjow uncrossed his arms and sighed, "Fine, I'll let this pass for today but you can't be late again."

"Understood master..." Orihime muttered trying to catch her breath. She had run all the way from the 1st district to the 13th. Sure the districts were placed in a shape of a circle making district 1 neighbours from district 13 but the area of district 1 was HUGE. "Can I sit down?"

"Go ahead."

Orihime collapsed onto the nearest sofa she saw and closed her eyes. Grimmjow, for the pervert he was, watched her chest heave and fall in a reciprocated action.

"Hey! I didn't say you could fall asleep!"

"I'm not! Just resting my eyes." Orihime moaned.

"Here, drink your water and get to work." Grimmjow carefully set a glass cup down beside Orihime.

Orihime lifted her head from the couch and picked up the glass "Thanks."

Grimmjow sat beside her, "Where were you exactly?"

Orihime top a sip from the cup before replying, "District 1."

Grimmjow's eyes widened, "District 1!" Orihime nodded taking another sip. "Holy crap girl! You run fast!"

"No kidding. That's the fastest I've ever ran in my life." Orihime said as she finished her drink.

"Go and get changed. Our first customer booked an appointment for 1:30."Grimmjow said getting up from the couch.

"It's only 1:15!" Orihime complained bolting upright.

Grimmjow grinned a little wider than usual, "Yeah but the girls are gonna give you a makeover."

"Makeover!" Orihime waddled over to him.

"Your first customer chose you. You have to look appealing. Though I wish you'd serve me first..." Grimmjow teased slapping her butt. A vein appeared on Orihime's forehead and she punched him full on in the face.

"Ow! What the fuck!"Grimmjow scowled clutching his nose hoping that it wasn't broken.

"Sick bastard..." Orihime muttered walking past him, eyes twitching on the way to the staircase. As she reached the door someone grabbed her roughly and dragged her up the stairs. Orihime looked up in surprise. It was Loly and she didn't look happy. They reached the top of the stairs and Loly roughly shoved her into a room and slammed the door.

"What the hell?" Orihime protested. She looked around. The other bar maids were sitting opposite Orihime and they looked pretty pissed. Loly joined the sea of scowling faces.

"Listen here newbie! We saw you flirting!" Loly growled.

"With whom?" Orihime asked.

"Aww you know who!" The blond maid in green snapped. _Were they talking about Grimmjow? _Orihime spluttered out laughing. They glared harder.

"Flirting! Flirting! Jesus Christ that is funny." Orihime howled clutching her belly. After a while she stopped laughing and told the maids, "Listen girls, I'm not interested in Grimmjow. I wasn't flirting with him, he was flirting with me."

"Grimmjow wouldn't do that. For years he hasn't made one move on us. Ever. He's ours so keep your dirty hands off of him." The brunette defended.

"I have been. He probably hasn't knocked you up yet 'cause maybe that's 'cause he thinks you're ugly." Orihime countered harshly.

"You little bitch..." The brunette scowled lifting her fist to punch Orihime. The other maids were struggling to contain her anger. When she settled down Loly advised Orihime to stay away from Grimmjow or she'll get beat up and then they left one by one. Orihime sat in silence wandering why they cared so much if Grimmjow flirted a bit, after all he did it all the time with the other girls. What did it matter if he flirted with her? Orihime highly suspected that it was jealousy.

She heard some yelling from downstairs, it was Grimmjow. _Who is he yelling at?_ Orihime wondered. There were some stumbling noises on the stairs and the door swung open revealing a rather tall green haired girl. There was a scar that went from underneath he bangs to the tip of her nose. Her eyes were hazel, big and round. Orihime stared at her she stared back and then smiled. Then she spoke, "Are you new?" she had a baby like voice which Orihime found quite annoying already.

"Yes. I am, are you?"

"No. I'm just filling in for a maid who's ill most of the time. My name is Neliel Tu Oderschvank. Friends call me Nel for short."

"Orihime Inoue." Orihime made no move to shake her hand but Nel grabbed it and shook it like she was pumping for oil. She smiled like a clueless child; Orihime pulled her hand away from what seemed like a never ending handshake, then she suddenly got an idea, "Do you know how to apply makeup?"

Nel nodded her head vigorously "Sure." Then she paused looking at Orihime in confusion and cocked her head to the side, "Don't you?"

Orihime didn't want to admit it but she had to, "No."

"You don't know how to put makeup on?" Nel gushed.

"To be honest, I've never really wore any makeup on at all."

"Never?" Nel looked like she could die right now.

"Never."

"Oh my god! We're gonna fix this, don't you worry Orihime!" Nel began panicking like an idiot. She began digging through piles of makeup. It was amazing how much makeup girls could carry in a single makeup bag, for all Orihime knew they might as well use a suitcase.

"It's alright. I don't intend to wear makeup but I have to wear it today 'cause some guy booked me."

"I see. Still, I'm gonna make you wear makeup everyday!" Nel approached her with several items in her hands or as Orihime would like to call them weapons of torture.

"Nel don't put too much on." Orihime unconsciously backed away a little.

"No no, a lot is what makes women attractive."

Immediately Nel leapt onto Orihime and applied on face powder. "You do know that you have a pretty face don't you?"

Orihime didn't bother answering.

"It's sooooo smooth, like a baby's bottom. I'm jealous!" Nel laughed.

Then there was the case with the eyes... "Ooooohhhh your eyes are so pretty and your lashes are long!" Nel breathed before putting on a whole puddle of eye liner and mascara.

When Nel was done with everything she squealed with delight. Orihime groaned in response. It seemed like a never ending process, every time Nel was finished Orihime was prepared to leave but then she'd always say that something didn't look right and applied a tonne of foundation on. Orihime was so relieved to hear that it was finished and the long minutes that seemed like torturous hours. Her head hurt from trying to intake the information Nel had given her. _Dark foundation first then lighter foundation, face powder and blusher. Dark foundation first then light foundation then face powder and... What was the last one?_

"Aren't you going to get changed?"

"Oh. Yes." Orihime took out her white frilly maid uniform.

Nel's smile drooped into an O shape, "You're the white maid! Oh my God..."

"What? What is it?"

"Don't tell but I recently discovered Grimmjow's planner. It had all the details of this bar in it, including the maid colouring system."

Orihime didn't bother wondering or asking how Nel got a hold of his planner, let alone why she was snooping around in the first place. She raised an eyebrow, "Maid colouring system?"

"Yeah. He gives maids certain colours that refer to the price. White is said to be the most expensive."

"Why me though? It's my first time here."

"Well-"Nel began but she was cut off by Grimmjow's constant impatient yelling.

"I have to go Nel. Thanks" Orihime quickly headed for the bathroom, got changed and headed downstairs. Grimmjow's jaw almost dropped at the very sight of Orihime. She seemed to emit an angel like glow. Without doubt in Grimmjow's eyes she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever set eyes on. Everything around him seemed blurred and slow whilst Orihime was the only thing he saw that glowed like the sun. She smiled, he blushed. Just when his fantasy was getting better Orihime kicked him in the stomach.

"Oye, you perv! Stop staring."

Grimmjow kneeled over and winced in pain, weakly he muttered "Your first guest is there. Menoly will explain what you have to do."

Orihime turned to face the table in the dark corner, a shadow like figure moved. Menoly approached her unwillingly.

"Put your arms around him and sit on his lap. Ask him what he wants to drink, go make it at the bar then head back and you know the rest of the drill."

It wasn't much information but it was enough for her to know what to do. Orihime nodded and approached the table she still couldn't see him but when she got closer she saw green eyes glint in the light.

"Hello again." A low voice greeted.

Orihime froze, "Mr Schiffer?"

"Yep."

"Why are you here? You're not the type to come to these bars."

"And you're not the type to be working here." He replied sitting out a bit more so the light shone onto his face.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Fine. I'm here because you still owe me." He stated simply.

"Why you little shit head..."Orihime clenched her fist to stop herself from punching him in the face.

"Call me what you want but that isn't going to help you keep this job."

"Dirty coward. I said I'd pay you back."

He ignored her, "Your boss is watching you know."

Orihime turned around and found Grimmjow staring at her along with the other maids. She turned to face Schiffer again. "He doesn't give two shits about what I do. He knows I won't fail in getting a man to go crazy. I mean this body isn't just for show."

"Really? I'm very hard to please, let alone make me go crazy. I'm not as weak as I look."

"Oh, is that so? We'll see how well you cope after three rounds."

Both knew that this game was serious. _This is a game to him isn't it? Fine let's see how this goes..._

_**Round one.**_

Putting on the fakest smile she stroked him under his chin, wrapped her arms around him and then thumped onto his lap when he least expected it to happen, he winced, she smirked. _Weakling._

Victory: Orihime.

_**Round two.**_

"Is there anything you want Master Schiffer?" Orihime asked innocently looking up and batting her eyes lashes as fast as wings.

"No." He replied. He stared into grey her eyes. They twinkled like stars if she looked into the light.

Orihime pushed on "See something you like?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" she ground against his hips.

He held her hips still, "I'm sure."

Orihime gritted her teeth; she wasn't going to give up just yet.

"Master Schiffer. Help me..." she begged.

"What do you need that requires my assistance?"Smirking at her pathetic attempt to seduce him.

"I have a burning desire...for you..." she lied.

"You just met me and you're very bad at acting, please take some lessons before you attempt to do it."

Orihime's restraint snapped. She punched him in the stomach. Luckily no one could see what was going on because it was in position from underneath the table. He winced and slumped onto her shoulder.

Victory: Orihime

_**Round three – Last round**_

Orihime nibbled on his earlobe, "You're going to lose. Give it up."

"Never." He bit her shoulder. It stung slightly.

Orihime bit his shoulder in return, "I'll make you." She could taste the blood seeping from her bite marks.

Meanwhile Grimmjow was watching the two of them getting cosy together. He was getting sick at the very sight, especially when a hot chick that he was after was with his BF/Enemy. He knew the green eyed guy very well and he knew that he wasn't the type to be doing this kind of stuff, no; he was more into keeping his own little secret safe. If only she knew who he was then she'd leave him alone. Grimmjow's blood boiled when he saw the two of them giving each other love bites on the shoulder; almost painfully he forced himself to remain glued to his couch. _It's only fake, it's only fake, it's only fake. _He told himself.

Loly saw Grimmjow scowling at the pair, she was also angry not because of the couple in the dark corner but because Grimmjow was more interested in Orihime than herself. For years she did everything she could just to get his attention, none of her tactics worked.

Grimmjow's alarm rang, 10 minutes were already up. Happily he broke the couple up, "Alright sorry to disappoint ya dude but ya times up with this lovely lady here." He grabbed Orihime's arm and pulled her up from Schiffer's lap.

"Do you know him?" Orihime asked.

Grimmjow grinned, "Yeah, he's my...I dunno, we have a strange relationship."

Orihime took 'relationship' the wrong way and she freaked out, "Oh my God I didn't mean to...I'm so sorry."

Both of them looked at her in confusion, "What?"

"Never mind." Orihime scooted away from Grimmjow. "I'll leave you two to talk. So sorry."

After Orihime left in a hurry to the kitchen, both men looked at each other. Grimmjow spoke first. "Do ya know her?"

"Yes, she stayed at mine for a night."

"At yours! Did ya fuck her virgin ass?" Grimmjow clenched his fist into a tight ball; he could feel his nails digging into his skin. His blood pressure was skyrocketing at high speed.

Schiffer sighed. "As much as I want to say yes just to get you pissed, no, I didn't."

Grimmjow exhaled in relief, blood pressure returning to normal. Changing the subject he asked another 'more intelligent, non-related to fucking question. "She doesn't know who ya are does she?"

"No." he turned away to avoid eye contact and then looked back up, "How is it that she works for you by coincidence?"

"Easy, she came to me emo boy."Grimmjow sneered.

"Do me a favour and stop calling me 'emo' boy."

Purposely Grimmjow bellowed out, "Alright _Ulquiorra_, I won't." Several people looked up in their direction.

Frantically Ulquiorra stood up and covered the blunettes mouth. It wasn't easy especially because of Grimmjow's unnatural height or maybe it was because Ulquiorra was a midget (he just didn't want to admit it). "Please keep it down."

Grimmjow roughly grabbed Ulquiorra's pale hand and pulled it away from his mouth, "Scared you're gonna get caught?"

"No, merely protecting my identity." He replied.

"You see! That's the thing with ya. Ya just can't admit people are correct can ya?"

Ulquiorra stood rooted in the spot silently. Grimmjow was correct. If he was caught, his career would be ruined. Being a celebrity wasn't always as easy as one would picture it. There were always issues such as fake scandals and utterly stupid rumours that you or your manager had to deal with.

In any case there was no way in hell he'd admit that Grimmjow was correct.

"Never mind that issue, I have a problem at hand."

"Again! You and ya problems! Go deal with them yourself!" Grimmjow snapped.

Ulquiorra ignored him again. Shamefully he quietly said, "I need to borrow one of your 'workers'."

Grimmjow didn't hear him properly; "NO I AIN'T HELPIN' YO' SORRY ASS-" then he paused and looked at Ulquiorra in shock, "What di'ja say?"

Shamefully he lowered his head and repeated a little more quietly, "I need one of your maids."

Grimmjow's ears nearly fell off, "Way to grow some balls man. I-"

Ulquiorra cut him off quickly before he got any ideas, "It's not what you think you dirty idiot." He slapped the back of the blunettes head.

Grimmjow rubbed the back of his head "What then?" he sneered. His eyes narrowed down into the point they looked like slits.

"I don't have time to tell you now. Hand me Orihime Inoue, she's the one who looks more normal than all the other trash you have here." The determination in his voice made it clear that he was desperate for her for whatever purpose he needed her for.

Grimmjow was not fazed one bit by Ulquiorra's intense stare and there was no way in hell he'd give up Orihime to the wanna be boner, "No-can-do. Sorry Orihime ain't for sale. She's the most expensive maid here."

Ulquiorra sighed, "I knew you'd say that, that's why I loaded my wallet with cash. I suggest you take this offer. Name the price."

"Sheesh, this is the first, you _must_ be desperate to go this far."

"**Damn it to hell! Name the price**." Ulquiorra slammed his fists on the table a crack appeared in the wood. Grimmjow flinched, his eyes locked onto Ulquiorra's fist, he could see the splinters of wood wedged into his bony knuckles. He worried about where they'll be going next, completely surrendering to the thought. "Alright, I'll give ya Orihime for free, how long are ya gonna use her for?"

Ulquiorra removed his fists from the table and began flexing his fingers into a fist ball and back again; Grimmjow could now see how much damage was made to the table. "Possibly 6 months."Ulquiorra replied complete unaffected by the events that just happened.

Grimmjow's jaw dropped, "Are ya serious! 6 freakin' months!"

Ignoring Grimmjow's yelling of shock, Ulquiorra waltzed into the room Orihime was in. "Thank you!"

* * *

**A/N: **This time Ulquiorra lost his temper, which is a bit out of place but hey ho, moving on!

Next Chapter: READ IT!


	4. The Contract

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. Was busy with documents and stuff so I didn't have much free time. Anywayz enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 4 – The Contract**

"Mr Schiffer! Where are you taking me! Let me go!" Orihime demanded as she twisted, pulled, screamed, kicked, did everything she could just to get Ulquiorra to let her arm go and leave her alone. For the last minute _he_ hadn't given her a straight answer and for the last minute _she_ hadn't stopped demanding for an answer. What had he expected though? That she'd just follow him obediently and look at the little birdies flying high in the sky?

Finally she broke free from his grip and stood rooted to the pavement giving him the dirtiest look she could. They hadn't exactly walked that far away from the bar Orihime now worked in; it was called Pantera or something like that. Orihime did consider running back the second she was free, but she didn't and she was pretty pissed at why she didn't.

Ulquiorra's eye swivelled to meet Orihime's, "I said come with me."

Orihime scowled, "Why should I? All of a sudden you come waltzing into the kitchen and grab me telling me that I should come with you to God knows what forbidden planet! I want a straight answer Schiffer, and you can't change the subject."

Ulquiorra continued to stare at her. His hands now wedged into his pocket.

"Mr Schiffer, please. I don't have time for all of this crap. I have to work, you might not but I do. I can't just skip work without a good reason. Besides, Grimmjow wouldn't be pleased to find me missing and when he finds out that one of his customers abducted me he'll be furious!"

"Grimmjow let me take you. Well borrow you to be more precise."

Orihime stood there gob smacked, "Wha?"

"Wha isn't a word." He corrected.

"I don't care! Grimmjow did what! Why?"

"I'm not sure either but I'd say to help a friend out." He lied. Quickly he grabbed a hold of Orihime's wrist when she wasn't expecting it. "We have to leave quickly." And then he ran dragging Orihime along. She could have sworn he was looking concerned; the expression in his eyes was something she hadn't ever expected him to show. After that she shut up and ran behind him. They passed the Senkai Bridge and all of a sudden he stopped to a halt. Orihime looked at him curiously, his head was bent low, "Mr Schiffer. Are you okay?"

"Get in the car."

"Car?" she looked to her right and found there was a black jaguar XJ there. Ulquiorra opened the door. Orihime hesitated.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get in." He commanded. Orihime stepped inside slowly closing her eyes as she did so immediately the faintest smell of mint wafted through her nose. She heard the door slam once she sat down and her eyes sprung open to be greeted by the sight of snow white leather. She hadn't expected his car to look rich as well. God, if he really did have bodyguards she was in deep shit. Come to think of it, where was he taking her? What if he was going to kill her in secret behind the dark shadowy alley ways? Orihime could already imagine the news paper titles that stated in black bold letters "Girl found dead in suspicious alley". Gulping at the very thought she hadn't realized that Ulquiorra was starting the car.

Ulquiorra noticed the woman looked a little white. Was she sick? No, he shouldn't be worrying about this now but that didn't stop him from asking, "Are you alright?"

Orihime's eyes focused through the car window, she shook her head slowly and if possible turned paler. Ulquiorra frowned, "No? Is something the matter?"

Orihime nodded eyes still focused through the window. It was like she was hypnotized.

"Are you going to kill me?" She whispered hoarsely out of the blue. Ulquiorra looked at her in shock. She turned to face him, her lips were dry, and the colour was completely drained off her face. "You're going to kill me aren't you? Then you're going to dump my body where no one can find it. Aren't you?" Orihime managed to choke out.

Ulquiorra stared at her for a bit and then cracked up. Orihime snapped out of her trance like state. _He was laughing!_

"Miss Inoue, you are funny!" he chuckled.

Orihime looked at him confusingly, "You're not going to kill me?"

Ulquiorra stopped chuckling, "Good heavens, no! That'd make me a murderer wouldn't it?"

Orihime let the information process in her brain before sighing in relief.

"Why on earth did you assume that?"

Orihime closed her eyes in contentment, "Because you looked so serious."

"Serious?"

"Oh sorry, you are _always_ serious. You're a sado who doesn't show any other emotion."

"Is that what you think of me?"

Orihime didn't have to think twice about her answer, "No. I have a whole list in my head."

Ulquiorra began driving, paying close attention to the road.

Orihime began examining her nails out of boredom, "So, why are you taking me away?"

Ulquiorra didn't dare take his eyes off the road, "I need you to help me."

Orihime looked up from her nails, "Why would someone like_ you_ need _my_ help?"

There was a pregnant pause. Ulquiorra didn't answer back. Orihime got annoyed. Looking up from her nails she glared at him. Then she slapped him on the back of his head. The car swerved slightly to the right, Ulquiorra quickly regained control of the wheel. "Are you crazy? I'm driving here!"

"Yeah, I'm crazy, now answer my question."

"Really? You are crazy?"

Orihime hit him on the head again, the car swerved to the left. "No, I was being sarcastic you idiot!"

"Stop hitting me on the head. Are you trying to kill us you suicidal woman?"

"Yes, I'm trying to kill _you_. Now answer my question!"

"I forgot it." He lied.

Orihime felt like killing him right now, she began thinking of ways to kill him, strangling was one of the good techniques. She grinned like a maniac but was put off the subject when Ulquiorra began talking.

"My grandma. She's been diagnosed with cancer. The doctor says that she only has little time to live before she dies. He said that she should have fun and complete her life so we made a list of the things she wants to fulfil. One of them was meeting her granddaughter-in-law, my wife."

"This links with me how?"

Ulquiorra sighed sadly, "I need you to lie. I need you to pretend to be my wife."

Orihime's mouth fell open, she was speechless.

"You only have to cope with this or 6 months. Please. My grandma is in a critical condition because of me. Say something please." He pleaded.

Orihime bent her down in shame, "You want me to lie..." gritting her teeth she continued "...to your poor grandma who is sick in that hospital bed."

It wasn't a question, Ulquiorra knew that but he still answered guiltily, "Yes."

"Let me out of the car." She began unbuckling her seat belt.

"Miss Inoue. I haven't stopped the car yet. You can't do that!" he snapped, one hand still on the steering wheel, the other outstretched to re-buckle Orihime's seat belt.

"Stop the car!"

"I can't."

"Why not! I'll call the police." Orihime unzipped her handbag and got out her mobile. Ulquiorra placed his hand over hers and pushed it back into the handbag before roughly prying her fingers off her grip on the mobile.

"Please don't, it'll only land _you_ in more trouble rather than me. Let me park the car and I'll explain."

Orihime had no intention of letting him explain. Once he parked the car she unbuckled her seatbelt, flung open the door and ran out. Ulquiorra ran out after her, "Miss Inoue! Please let me explain."

She turned around, "You sick bastard! What kind of a grandson are you? Who do you think I am? I will not let you take advantage of me like this dammit!"

"Calm down Miss Inoue. Please." Ulquiorra begged. He stopped 2 metres away from Orihime in case she tried anything violent.

"I will not calm down. I will not pretend to marry you. I will never see you again!" Orihime turned around and continued running far away from the man as possible.

"I'll pay you!" He yelled. Orihime stopped running, she stopped thinking, and her body wouldn't function. Money. The only bribe that made her weak against matters like this.

Ulquiorra knew he hit the bull's eye spot, "I'll pay you as much as you want."

"No." Orihime tried to sound positive about her answer.

Ulquiorra pushed on, "I give you my word. We'll get divorced after the 6 months is over. I promise."

"N-no." Her voice faltered. She was losing the battle.

"We'll write a contract of 3 demands each of our own to make it official."

Ulquiorra had pushed it too far, he knew the boundaries but he was desperate to save his grandma who he dearly loved. For years his grandma took care of him whilst his parents worked. She had told him the most amusing stories and spoilt him rotten because she loved him too. Now Ulquiorra wanted to return everything back to her so she could die with a smile on her face and fulfil her life to the fullest.

If Orihime accepted his proposal he'd hide the contract for good so no one could find out about the celebrity marriage scam. Not even Grimmjow would be allowed to know and then when the 6 months was up he'd divorce her quickly. He wouldn't be having any doubts because he wasn't _in love_ or anything, right now he was certain Orihime would fit the job perfectly as his wife.

Orihime gulped and strolled in front of him guiltily she asked, "When do I begin?"

Orihime didn't know why she had accepted his offer, she wasn't thinking straight at the time. All she could think about was the money and now because of her stupid decision she found herself sitting in _his _car again. The bastard was dangerous. Anyone who got involved with him was guaranteed to be sucked into his problems like a helpless insect would get sucked into a spider web.

Right now they were on their way to his house (or palace as Orihime thought) to write up the deal before officially announcing their marriage to their friends, not that Orihime had many friends anyway. Most of them would be Ulquiorra's friends.

For a while both of them sat in silence bathing in their guilt. Ulquiorra broke the silence first, "I haven't informally introduced myself yet have I?"

Orihime raised an eyebrow, "Yes you have Mr. Schiffer."

"I said _informally_."

"Oh. Right. No you haven't."

"I'm Ulquiorra Schiffer."

Orihime paused for a while, "Ulquiorra. I've heard that name before or seen it. I can't remember it though." She placed her fingers on her lips and thought hard somehow knowing Ulquiorra was an important name. Ulquiorra panicked slightly. His hands jerked the wheel to the right by accident.

Orihime was thrown off her seat and back again, "ARE YOU CRAZY? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?"

"No. Sorry. I lost focus."

Orihime repositioned herself comfortably on the seat and muttered, "Lost focus my arse."

Ulquiorra ignored that. Orihime went back to thinking as she rested her head on the window. They passed a billboard with a picture of Ulquiorra on it; it also had his name printed in fat bold black letters. Orihime paid no attention to it. Ulquiorra _had _paid attention to it, he'd been paying attention to every little detail on the bill board, "They made my nose look to big."

"What _are_ you talking about?"

"Nothing." In his discomfort he pressed a button and the radio turned on. A man's voice came on, he was talking about the issue with the districts and then he said something about how unfair the districts were. This caught Orihime's attention; she began listening more carefully and soon found herself yelling words of agreement at the radio. LBC was now her favourite radio station.

"_What does the leader of our district do anyway? I bet he uses the money we pay to indulge himself in riches!"_

"Yeah! Fuck the leader!" Orihime yelled.

"You're yelling at the radio for such a trivial issue."

"It is not trivial, it's part of society."

"Do you even know who leader of District 13 is?"

"Yes!" she lied.

"Name him."

"Err something... Ukitake..."

Ulquiorra sighed, "You don't know do you?" Orihime shook her head slowly. "_Jushiro_ Ukitake can't do anything because he is ill that is incurable. Often if he pushes himself too hard he'll cough up blood. That's why he can't do anything to help District 13."

It was amazing how much Ulquiorra knew, no, it was unnatural. _Perhaps he's a stalker. _Orihime allowed herself a small chuckle at the thought of Ulquiorra carrying a camera and following the white haired leader around.

"You'd better learn about politics as soon as possible. Mum won't accept someone who doesn't know the current leaders of the districts."

"Aww it's so cute how you say mum."Orihime poked his cheeks playfully. He inched his away from her finger and switched the radio to another station.

_Invincible _

"I love this song!" Orihime's face lit up in delight when she heard Kelly Rowland's voice.

_Invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_We're invincible._

Ulquiorra watched as Orihime closed her eyes, "Why?"

"Because it has a meaningful meaning behind it. Listen to the words and you'll understand." She muttered as B.o.B finished his verse.

_No matter where we are,_

_No matter just how far our paths may lead,_

_We don't need no shield 'cause love is the armour that we need,_

_We're invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_Loves our protector_

_We're invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_Invincible,_

_We're invincible._

For once the woman was right. The words were meaningful. But they weren't completely true in his mind. It did make him consider though, what would happen after the 6 months?

Around 5 minutes he was just outside his home. Ulquiorra drove up the patio into his garage and parked his car carefully to avoid hitting anything or scratching his car.

"We're here Miss Inoue." He opened the door for her to get out.

Moving her legs, which from the car ride seemed to make them paralyzed, she stepped out of the car and began stretching her arms, "Aaaah! My lovely home."

"Your home? This is _my_ house."

"But now we're 'getting married' what's yours is mine."

"We're not officially or legally married yet so-"

Orihime cut in, "Yeah you can stop with the maths talk batman. Let's just get the contract typed up and signed."

Orihime had already been considering the 3 points she wanted to put down in the contract, she wasn't sure about Ulquiorra but if he had the same points she could change hers. Right now a million points were whizzing through her head. All of them were based on marriage problems. Probably some Ulquiorra would agree with.

Once again Orihime found herself mesmerized with his house. No matter how many she glances she got, it still wasn't enough. The minute she walked straight pass the front door her eyes were blinded with the colour white. Ulquiorra casually dumped his coat onto the sofa and kicked of his sneakers. Orihime watched him as he sat down by the computer and switch it on. Bored with looking at the computer screen she began looking around the living room. There were no picture frames hanging around just the usual plain empty white walls.

"How come you don't keep pictures around?"

Ulquiorra tapped his fingers on the computer desk and slouched lower into his sofa chair, "They make me feel depressed."

"You're already are depressing to be around."

He sighed sarcastically out of boredom, "Glad to know that."

"Why not go take some pictures of Grimmjow and you?"

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"You know..." Orihime made hand gestures. Ulquiorra looked at her in confusion and then at her hands which were clasping together. "I really have no idea what you're babbling on about, the computers on. Come here and let's get it done with." Ulquiorra swivelled around on his chair to face the computer screen and began typing up the beginning of the contract. Orihime approached slowly; peering over his shoulder she silently she read out to herself what he was writing. He swivelled around to face her and gestured to the computer, "Alright. Type down your points."

Extending her hands to the keyboard she typed up and read aloud, "One. I do not want to be involved in your personal matters. This means anything work related it also means you won't be involved in my matters."

Ulquiorra crossed his arms, "Fine with me."

"Two. I am allowed to do what I want in this house and _spend _as much as I want."

"I'm not so sure about this one."

Orihime nudged him on his head, "You stingy bastard! I'm doing this for you; I'm _lying_ to your dying grandma!"

Shifting away slightly he answered, "Fine. I'll accept it."

"Moving on. Three. No sexual contact whatsoever." This one was the top one for Orihime. If the emo bastard ever made a move on her she'd be sure he'd regret it.

"And why would I touch you? You're too strange for my tastes."

"Whatever. If you break this rule, I'm gonna saw of your head and feed it to the dogs."

"Fine with me. If you don't mind it's _my_ turn."

"What's there to write? I basically said it all!"

Ulquiorra ignored her, "Four. When I require your assistance, mainly family issues, you _will_ help me."

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

"Five. We must respect each other and act like an actual married couple. So you cannot tell anyone of this contract."

Orihime grunted, "I don't care, I'll just do what I can to get this marriage to be as painful as possible."

"Very good. Lastly. You must clean the house, this includes yourself."

Her eyes flickered to his emerald orbs to find his staring back at her grey ones,"Why me? And what does it matter to you?"

"Miss Inoue. I'll let you know that I am a _very_ hygienic person. I absolutely _hate_ dirty things and I have mild allergies to dust."

"Fine then. I'll clean. But are you sure you can trust me? What if I steal something?" she nudged his rib cage and grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"I'm absolutely sure that you won't be able to penetrate my security system and I don't think you're the type of person to steal, especially if it's something from me."

Orihime snorted, "You'd be surprised at what I'll do."

Ulquiorra typed in the remainder of the contract, when he was done he sighed out loudly, "I'd like to experience your 'surprises', it'll be something new to fascinate myself with. Alright I think it's safe to say we can print this contract out. You may do the honours." Ulquiorra stepped aside from the computer for Orihime to press print. At first she hesitated but remembered the cash payment and obediently clicked the word print which seemed to flash on the screen.

The contract was done, it lied on the printer. Orihime didn't dare pick it up so Ulquiorra did it for her. "Thank you for your co-operation Miss Inoue. I shall keep this hidden to avoid any rumours from spreading. Now we just need to sign."

Ulquiorra pulled out a pen from his pocket; he pressed his pen on the paper and left it to linger in the same spot for a moment before scribbling his signature on it. He handed the pen to her and she took it, she bent down to sign the paper carefully. Once finished she gave the pen and contract back to him. "I think we're done now." Ulquiorra said as he admired the sheet.

Orihime nodded as she stared at the piece of limp paper that he held in his hand so delicately. The contract was done; there was nothing she could do from now on. It was too late to turn back now.


	5. You can't always run

**A/N:** Hi, sorry again for another late update. But I promise you this will be worth it! ^.^ enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 5 – You can't always run.**

"Put this on." Ulquiorra handed Orihime a purple dress. Square necked. Ended around knee height. It was actually rather pretty.

"Will it even fit?"

"Judging by your figure, yes."

Orihime took it and held it arm length away to get a proper view of it, "Why do you even have ladies clothes here?" He didn't answer.

"Why do I have to wear this?"

"We're going somewhere important and doubt that you'll want to stay in that tacky maid outfit." He said as he dug through his wardrobe. Orihime looked down at her white uniform, true. It made her look like some kind of slut. "Where may that place be?"

"My family's mansion in Japan." He quickly replied.

Orihime dropped the dress, "WHAT!"

"I'm joking Miss Inoue."

"Don't joke! I nearly died here!"

"You must have enough common sense to know that I am not going to pay for _your_ expenses. Besides, it's too early for us to meet my parents." He picked up the dress and shoved it back into her arms.

"I hate you."

"I can see that, but if you don't want people to find out about this 'deed' you're doing for me, you'd better start acting like you love me."

"Why would I do that? It's not like anyone's gonna care."

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, "Would you say that if I was a celebrity?"

"I doubt that you could ever be a celebrity, you loner."

Ulquiorra chuckled slightly. Orihime glared imaginary daggers into his face.

"We'll see Miss Inoue."

"See what? There is nothing to see because _you will never be_ a celebrity."

True the dork had brains as Orihime had just found out recently but there was no way in hell he could be a celebrity. Wandering around the house for the guest bedroom she had passed some interesting things. She found that he'd received a proper education, got good grades (all a*s!), and even graduated from one of the best University. He had a perfect family background, unlike herself. Ever since a young age Orihime knew perfectly well that she would have to fend for herself one day but she had never expected that day to come at the age of 11. Her parents were brutally murdered by loan sharks because her father was in huge debt. Orihime and her mother never knew about this nor the fact that he decided to borrow a large sum of cash from the loan sharks. The funny thing was she couldn't remember anything afterwards from the part when her father told her brother, mum and herself that they were broke. Orihime didn't even know for sure if her family were dead because she was told this by the orphanage nuns who weren't always reliable.

Ulquiorra pulled out a white shirt, "Miss Inoue. Things in this world are very unexpected. Don't get your hopes up."

"And I suppose you've had personal experience?"

"I have. There's the issue with my grandma. One minute she's fit as a fiddle and the next she's been diagnosed with cancer."

Orihime paused to consider this thought.

"You see. It's just as I say."

"Shut up emo-boy."

"You and the nicknames."

"You deserve them. If I can't attack you I'll resort to swearing or bullying. It's not like you give a shit any way."

"How very wrong you are." Ulquiorra walked right towards her whilst she backed up against the wall.

"W-what are you doing?" Orihime stuttered. Her heart was beating like bongo drums she didn't know why. Ulquiorra leant closer to her face. She blushed but made no move to get away. Ulquiorra was getting closer and closer until they almost touched lips and just when she thought he was going to kiss her he moved to whisper in her ear, "Go and get changed." He pulled away and left her frozen by the wall.

The emo was a total player. No doubt about it. Orihime wasn't pleased that she just agreed to 'marry' this twit and she couldn't possibly be more humiliated in her life. Orihime snapped out of her trance and shoved her way past him, she was going to avoid eye contact with him as much as she could. Ulquiorra watched in amusement as she made her way into the guest room without protesting to him about his little act. He was going to use this as a weapon against her the next time she threatened, hit or swore in front of him.

"Oh and Miss Inoue. There's a couple of diamond accessories in the second drawer to the left. Pick one of each and wear them please."

"One of each?"

"Yes, one necklace, one pair of earrings, one-"

"I get it, I get it." Orihime snapped in frustration before promptly slamming the door. Yet again Orihime found herself lost in the house, it was just simply too big. For someone with her IQ she knew she wouldn't be able to get used to it but for someone with Ulquiorra's IQ she knew he could find his way easily around the house without any problems. "Ulquiorra! I'm lost!"

A couple of footsteps were heard and there he was right in front of her within seconds. "That is very unbelievable."

"Listen here! I'm not as brainy as you and it's my second time here so don't jump to your stupid conclusions." Orihime snapped.

Ulquiorra squared his shoulders, "Fair enough. Come with me."

Orihime followed him like a trusty dog; they passed many rooms and walked up several stairs until they reached a large door. Ulquiorra pushed it and it swung very slowly open to reveal a grand room painted in sky blue. The windows were large and the curtains cascaded like waterfalls by the side. The crystal chandeliers glowed when the sunbeams touched them. The bed was in the corner covered in blue satin sheets. There were several white desks and cupboards and one huge wardrobe. Orihime realized this was the room she slept in when Ulquiorra rescued her from the streets.

"You remember this room don't you?"

Orihime didn't answer she just stared at the detail in the room. Now that she was fully awake rather than half, she could properly inspect the room. She never noticed that it was so... detailed.

"I'll leave you to change then." Ulquiorra shut the door carefully leaving Orihime in the room. She waited before his footsteps couldn't be heard and then she screamed in delight. Trying to contain herself she jumped onto the bed and began rolling around in the bed covers.

Blowing strands of her hair out of her face she began talking to herself, "How am I so lucky? I must have done something good in my previous life."

That was something Orihime believed in. She believed that if you were a naturally lucky person or suddenly had a huge amount of luck bestowed onto you, you were someone who did something good in their previous life and were blessed by God. For someone as...violent as her it was rather strange for such a belief to even exist in her mind, well that's what other people who knew her well thought. Orihime bolted upright, her hair ungluing itself off her face. _Hadn't he said something about jewellery? _Slowly she got of the bed and looked at the three drawers which were scattered around the corners of the room.

"Which one, which one?" she muttered to herself. Her index finger swivelled around in circles trying to pick out a drawer to go to and without realising; her feet shuffled her to the drawer in the far left corner. Out of the blue she began singing an improvised tune as she headed closer to the drawer, "Jewellery, jewellery, jewellery sweet. Cakes and candies can't compete. Jewellery, jewellery, jewellery, stored in a jar. Jewellery here you..." Her fingers wrapped around the handles preparing themselves to yank open the drawer, "... ARE!" Orihime had literally broken the drawer as she screamed out 'are' but to her surprise, her instinct was correct. Eyes meeting the sight of glittering diamonds, diamonds proudly showing off their beauty. What more could a girl want?

"Oh shit." Orihime could feel herself going to explode in a fit of laughing and crying, which emotion was going to burst out first? She honestly couldn't tell and she honestly didn't know why she was going to burst. It was only jewellery after all...

Someone tapped on the door, "Miss Inoue, are you alright?"A muffled voice asked from behind.

Orihime snapped her head round to the door, "I'm fine..." She had spotted the prettiest necklace sitting on the velvet padding in the centre. Orihime scooped it up, "...I'm just..." carefully she put it around her neck and faced the mirror, "...trying on the jewellery..." the word jewellery barely came out from her lips.

"Trying on the what?"

Orihime stood gobsmacked at the mirror. The jewel was sooooo beautiful, it was a simple diamond flower but it felt like it weighed two pounds.

"Miss Inoue?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"I could've sworn you-"

"Ulquiorra, leave me alone. I'm fine. Go do your...business company thing or go or talk to Grimmjow or something." Orihime grabbed the purple dress that she laid on the bed began stripping.

"I don't own a company and why would I talk to Jeagerjaques?"

"Oh my God! Just go away man!"

"Fine, fine..."

Orihime carefully slipped into the dress and zipped it up. Just as Ulquiorra had guessed, it fit perfectly. It wasn't too big and it wasn't too small, it was just right. It hugged her curves smoothly – Orihime's best feature – and at the same moment looked absolutely stunning. She left the maid outfit lying in a bundle on the floor.

"Miss Inoue?"

Orihime gave a startled jump at his sudden voice reappearing from behind the door, "What the fuck is your problem man!"

"No swearing in the house. I forgot to mention that I'm taking you to a hair and makeup specialist in 10 minutes."

Orihime bolted for the door and yanked it open, "What?"

Ulquiorra stood on the other side of the door, emotionless as usual, "Are you done then? Here try these on." He handed her a pair of black high heels.

"What's wrong with the heels I have now?" Orihime protested.

"They look old. Now put these on and let's go. You'll clean up your pile of dirty clothes when we get back." He shoved the shoes into her chest and walked off.

Orihime put the shoes on whilst walking which proved to be extremely difficult, "Ulquiorra! Wait for me! I'll get lost! Don't walk away!"

"Hurry up then."

"You're such a meanie!" she wailed. Sighing in annoyance he walked back and grabbed her wrist before dragging her along with him. "Ulquiorraaaaaaaa! You're hurting me."

"And you're being annoying. Drop the shoes and hurry up."

Orihime obeyed.

"And then we have to go to a press conference."

"Press Conference?"

"You'll find out sooner or later." Ulquiorra opened the garage and unlocked the car. "Get in." He opened the door for her. She scooted in. Ulquiorra slammed the door in her face and got in to the car from the other side slamming the door in a hurry.

"Ulquiorra. What's the rush? You slammed the door in my face. What if it hacked of my nose you idiot! The how are the professional makeup artist gonna cover that up?"

"Shhhh, I'm driving now." He said as he started reversing the car.

"Ulquiorraaaaaaaa!" Orihime whined. "You're being mean!"

"And you've suddenly turned childish rather than violent behaviour." He pointed out.

Orihime put on her baby voice. "That's because I want to be a good wife!"

"That's not what good wives do or sound like."

Orihime groaned, "Ugh. I was getting fed up of acting like this anyway."

"Good wives sit still and remain quiet."

"I can't do that. I'll fidget after 10 seconds is up. Observe." She sat still for a moment, Ulquiorra watched. She began wiggling about in her seat after a few seconds. "See."

"Just keep quiet then and if you have the urge to move excuse yourself and go outside."

Orihime changed the subject out of curiosity, "What is this press interview for anyway?"

Ulquiorra suddenly went quiet. He wanted to avoid the question as much as he could; only because he knew she'd find out about his 'secret' sooner or later and she'd probably freak out on him knowing her personality. He wondered if Orihime would be any different from any woman he'd ever met, he didn't date them., he just tried to befriend them. Nearly all of them begged him to marry them within a week and the majority demanded for sexual contact which he immediately refused.

"Ulquiorra!"

"What?"

"You're going down the wrong lane!" Orihime shrieked as another car skidded to a halt in front of them.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened he instantly pressed on the brakes just in time to avoid hitting the other car. A man walked out from the other car and headed towards Ulquiorra who had wilted in his seat. Orihime couldn't see the man's face clearly but she couldn't mistake the orange spiky hair. _Ichigo Kurosaki. _She thought as he tapped onto the car window catching Ulquiorra's attention who scrolled down the window screen. _Why him of all people?_

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo snapped. Orihime could see that he was scowling. She slumped into her seat hoping not to be noticed.

Ulquiorra remained calm as usual, "You don't have to yell. I'm right in front of you."

Ichigo's eyes widened when he realised who the man he was talking to really was, "Hey aren't you Ulqui-"

Ulquiorra quickly cut him off, "No I'm not."

Ichigo didn't fall for his attempt to put him off, "I'm pretty sure you are. No one else has green eyes like yours."

"I'm sorry but you're very mistaken. I'm here for a nice drive with my lovely wife as you can see." Ulquiorra gestured towards Orihime who had turned away to face the window beside her. Hopefully Ichigo wouldn't recognize the back of her head. How very wrong she was. He didn't notice straight away but he did have suspicions. The hair was the key feature and her curvy form was the second hint.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at what Orihime was doing, "Orihime?"

_I could kill him for saying my name_. She scowled. Ichigo looked at her in disbelief, "Orihime? Is that you?"

_No escape now_. She turned around plastering that famous fake smile on, "Hello again Kurosaki."

He couldn't speak. He hadn't seen her ever since the first year of High School ended. She just mysteriously disappeared without a word and now he found her married to a celebrity.

"Long time no see." Orihime smiled.

Ulquiorra glanced at the two suspiciously, "You know each other?"

"Kurosaki attended the same high school as me." She answered smiling wider.

"Where were you all this time Inoue?"

Orihime ignored him and sat to face Ulquiorra, "You see. Kurosaki was my best friend in high school..."

"Inoue. Why are you ignoring me?" The anger was rising in his voice. Ulquiorra could sense it and looked into Orihime's eyes. They looked so hurt. He could see the brim of her eyes watering.

"... He helped me with lots of things. I'm so glad to have met him..." She said softly.

"INOUE!" Ichigo grabbed Orihime's shoulders. "WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME!"

"Ichigo! What are you doing!"

"Dammit to hell. You can't always fucking change the subject! Answer my question Inoue! Why did you ignore me? Why did you leave and where to?"

Ulquiorra could see Orihime was going to cry. He couldn't understand that a strong willed person was crying over someone who was yelling at her. But then again he didn't know the truth. "Leave my wife alone."

"You stay out of this! It's none of your business." Ichigo snapped, his fingers tightening on Orihime's shoulders.

"No _you_ stay out of this. She is _my_ wife and you're causing her distress. Can you not see that?" Ulquiorra countered harshly.

Ichigo turned to Orihime for help, "Are you gonna let him talk to me like this?"

Ulquiorra at the same moment turned his gaze away from Ichigo to Orihime.

"Let's go Ulquiorra." She said quietly tugging at his sleeve. Ichigo's hands slipped of her shoulders. He couldn't believe it. Orihime had always been so kind towards him. Now she was someone different. _How time could change a person so dramatically. _

Ulquiorra smirked sarcastically, "Can you leave my wife and I alone now? We have an important interview to attend to." And without warning he drove off away from the scene leaving Ichigo standing in the middle of the road in shock.

For the remainder of the journey Orihime remained quiet. Ulquiorra thought it'd be nice but he didn't like it. Was it because he knew Orihime was upset or was it because he'd adjusted to her chatty self? Even when they arrived at the makeup and hair specialist Orihime didn't complain about how they were literally pulling out her hair when trying to untangle a knot or when they scrubbed her face so hard it turned red. Occasionally she would wince but that was it. No complaints whatsoever.

"I must say Ulquiorra. Your wife is absolutely stunning!" The makeup specialist exclaimed.

"Yeah. She's a real looker. Good work buddy!" The hair specialist patted him roughly on the back.

"I know. She's the most beautiful creature that I've ever met. I'm glad I married her."

Orihime sat emotionless, ignoring Ulquiorra's comment. _Lies, its all lies._

He frowned, obviously not pleased with her reaction so he did what only the brave would do. An arm encircling her waist the other lifting up her chin he leant in and pressed his lips against hers. Orihime hadn't expected him to do that and she wasn't really paying much attention but when she felt his cold lips upon hers her eyes widened in shock and for a moment she stood there frozen before shoving Ulquiorra off her. Neither of them said anything.

The makeup specialist squealed in excitement, "That's sooooo sweet. Hime is shy of kissing in public!"

Orihime touched her lips. He'd taken her first kiss that she'd been saving for 'the one' but obviously he didn't care and there was nothing she could do.

Ulquiorra smiled inside knowing that he'd at least gotten a human reaction from her. Not only that but he found out just how different she was from others. He'd kissed her and she'd _shoved_ him away. Most girls would've kissed back more passionately and ripped of their panties off before trying to sleep with him. "Yes. My Hime doesn't like to kiss for others to see."

_Oh so now he's going to call me Hime is he? Over my dead body... _

"Shall we go now? If we leave now we'll get there right on time."

Before she could make an excuse he grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Another delighted squeal from the makeup specialist and they were out of the door and into the car. Orihime decided she wasn't going to talk to him but he was making things extremely difficult on the way to their destination and when they got there. It was torture, no, it was black mail! Right now they were outside a large building but Ulquiorra had taken this opportunity to count money. Orihime's special weakness. If she could she would've snatched it out of his hands and ran off with it, but no. She had to cope by sitting in her car seat until she couldn't take it.

"ARGGHHH! This is killing me! Can we go now?"

Ulquiorra looked up from behind the wad of cash in his hand, "Miss Inoue. We have 15 minutes until the press conference starts. Redeem yourself."

"Ugh! At least let me buy some cigarettes! God I've never wanted to smoke this badly in my life!"

Ulquiorra frowned, "Absolutely not!"

"WHY?"

"My wife is not to smoke whether she like it or not."

"Fine! I want alcohol then."

"That is a no-no as well." He continued to count the cash. Orihime opened the door and walked out. "Where are you going Miss Inoue?"

"Out."

"No! You can't do that! Wait there and I'll come out and we'll go to the press conference."

Orihime smirked, "Why do I need your permission to do things. Besides..." She decided to throw back what he said, "We have 15 minutes until the press conference starts." She smiled and slammed the car door in his face, Ulquiorra panicked and counted the money as fast as he could. _Freedom at last. _Orihime sighed, she glanced around the area to see if there were any shops around but instead spotted someone familiar. _Rukia Kuchiki. _Why was that people of her past suddenly appeared in the same district as her? Did the universe hate her or something? Rukia Kuchiki was definitely not one of those people who Orihime wanted to see again. Orihime looked a little more carefully, there was something a little off with Rukia, she was still short and her appearance was the same only she seemed...fatter? Was Rukia pregnant with Ichigo's baby?

"For the love of God!" Orihime cursed out loudly. Several people looked up in her direction including Rukia. Orihime covered her mouth just realising what she'd done. Rukia squinted slightly and then her face brightened when she realised who Orihime was.

"Orihime!" Rukia yelled out happily. Orihime pretended not to notice and ratted on the car window to try and get Ulquiorra's attention. His head snapped up to face her. "_What?"_ He mouthed

"Can we go now? Please." she asked desperately

"_Hold on a sec... I'm nearly done with the counting."_

"Orihime Inoue!" Rukia yelled as she ran towards her. Orihime tapped her foot impatiently as she watched Ulquiorra carefully put the money back into his wallet.

"Orihime!" Rukia yelled again. Orihime could hear her footsteps. She was getting closer. Ulquiorra opened the door and stepped out, "There. I'm done shall we go now?"

"About time too! Lets hurry!" Orihime grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the building.

"Wait! Orihime!" Rukia yelled. She was just on the other side of the road.

Ulquiorra tapped Orihime's shoulder, "Miss Inoue. I think someone is calling you."

"Ignore her." Orihime shoved open the door.

"Orihime!"

Ulquiorra frowned, "Miss Inoue, she sounds like an old acquaintance of yours."

"I SAID IGNORE HER DAMMIT!" Orihime shouted. Ulquiorra shut up and led her up to the conference room. Orihime looked behind to make sure Rukia hadn't followed, too her relief, she hadn't. Ulquiorra opened a door which led to another door. He paused when he was just about to grab the knob, "Do you have epilepsy?"

Orihime looked questioningly at him but shook her head slowly.

"Are you ready?"

Orihime nodded, "I'm more than ready."

Ulquiorra took hold of her hand and the door knob, he breathed in and exhaled and then opened the door. There was a bright flash, followed by another and more. It didn't seem to stop Orihime could just make out people holding cameras and notepads. The noise was so loud. So many people were trying to get to the couple and finally someone broke through the crowd. It was a reporter. She held out her microphone into Ulquiorra's face. "Mr Schiffer is this, your wife?" The reporter asked. Ulquiorra nodded and clutched Orihime's hand tightly. The flashing camera lights suddenly increased its pace and the amount of noise grew louder upon hearing what Ulquiorra had said. Then another reporter barged in, "Where did you meet her?"

"I met her in a restaurant." He lied. Orihime raised an eyebrow and he gave her a look that told her to just play along with it. She obeyed and hugged his arm, pretending to be shy. Ulquiorra led her up to the podium and they both sat down. Everything was suddenly more hushed, a few flashes and then someone raised their arm, "Mr Schiffer. Has your wife inspired you to write any new music?"

Orihime glanced at him. _What is going on?_

"Yes she has. I have written a new piece of music entitled her name. It will be released this March."

Orihime choked. _Is he a celebrity?_

Ulquiorra gently rubbed her back, "Sorry. My wife is a little nervous."

A few reporters said awwwwwwww. Others just chuckled in amusement. The interviews were long and the questions kept rolling in like stones. Orihime remained quiet and Ulquiorra did the talking. She smiled when necessary and laughed when the others laughed. Her smile faded when she spotted Rukia in the corner. The colour drained from her face. _How did she find me?_

A man asked,"When is the wedding taking place?"

Ulquiorra pulled Orihime closer, "In two weeks time."

Orihime kept her eyes glued onto Ulquiorra's to avoid looking into Rukia's purple eyes.

"I have a question for Mrs Schiffer." A familiar voice stated. Orihime whipped her head to find Rukia had stepped forward. "Where did you go 9 years ago?" Her violent eyes darkened when she asked that question. Orihime gulped, the room went quiet and everyone looked at Orihime. Her lips were dry, they wouldn't move. Her hold on Ulquiorra's hand tightened. Rukia had her cornered. Orihime realised, you couldn't run from your past forever.

* * *

A/N: Kyaaaaaa. I'm done! I need help though. In the next chapter I need to know who Rukia should end up with. It's either gonna be Renji or Ichigo but I don't know which! send a review so I know which!


	6. The Shocking Truth

**A/N: Hiya! BLEAH I cOULD HAVE DONE BETTER ON THIS CHAPTER! Sorry for yet ANOTHER LATE UPDATE but this was because I was on vacation! Wooo! Hopefully my next chapter will be a double release and I'll be publishing another story (Ulquihime again!). In the meantime enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me**

**Chapter 6: ****The Shocking Truth**

"Nine years ago, you disappeared. Where did you go?" Rukia's voice was low. Orihime sat in her seat, not moving an inch. Nine years ago, she had run away; far away from Ichigo and Rukia.

Ulquiorra had noticed Orihime couldn't speak. Why was it so many people could affect her just by making eye contact? He decided to throw her a life ring, "I'm sorry. I think you've mistaken my wife for somebody else."

"Mr Schiffer. Your wife knows perfectly well what I'm talking about. Nine years ago she disappeared from Karakura town without a trace. She knows very well who I am because we are best friends." Rukia scowled.

Ulquiorra cupped Orihime's cheeks and tilted her head up to face his, "Love. Do you know who this woman is?" He made sure that his eyes hinted she should say no and lie. Several reporters noted down Ulquiorra's action and others took pictures of what seemed to be 'the happy couple'.

"N-no. I do not know this woman."

Ulquiorra released her face and turned to Rukia "There. You have your answer. My wife doesn't know you."

Rukia lost it right on the spot, "DAMMIT ORIHIME! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"

Orihime stood up from her seat all too quickly; her head bent low in shame and then suddenly she quietly mumbled, "I need to be excused." And then she ran out the conference room. Several reporters stood up and took pictures of the fleeing princess. Ulquiorra stood up too; he could see the tears falling from her eyes as she ran. Rukia had noticed as well and ran after her. _I won't let you get away. Not this time Orihime._

It was chaos after Ulquiorra ran after the two. Reporters were calling their colleagues to come, people followed Ulquiorra to try and get a picture of his worried face. Scribers wrote down every single detail like it was the end of the world. News spread around the building like a wildfire and security guards were sent to find them.

Orihime was more than aware that several people were looking for her, but she didn't care. She couldn't face Rukia again, her heart felt like it was shattering into a million unfixable pieces and after she saw Ichigo her knees buckled, her heart felt like it was going to burst. They still gave her the same affects from when she was younger.

Stumbling into an abandoned dark room Orihime sat on the floor in the corner. No one could find her here. She was safe Orihime hugged her knees and rocked back and forth whilst crying softly. It wasn't fair. She was doing so well forgetting about her past and then all the people in the past just had to come back didn't they? Especially Ichigo. She was still in love with him and she knew that perfectly well but he didn't love her did he? That's why she couldn't just be friends with him; she wanted to be more to him.

Orihime could hear the stampede of reporter's running back and forth trying to find her, she stopped crying to make sure that she didn't make any noise and then it all went quiet. She began crying again. _What have I done to deserve this?_

"Miss Inoue?"

Orihime snapped her head up and stared tearfully at the green eyes that stared back. "It's not fair Ulquiorra." She sobbed. He moved from the door to sit next to her. She buried her face in-between her knees, "I got out of the way for them and they had to come back to cause me pain again."

Ulquiorra watched as she sobbed harder. He couldn't understand it.

"It's just not fair..."

Ulquiorra repeated the last words she sobbed in his head. _It's just not fair..._It was true. Nothing was fair in life. "Miss Inoue. Shall we cancel the conference? You don't seem to be in a position to be interviewed."

"No. It'll only cause you more trouble." She sniffed.

"Miss Inoue. Let me remind you that we can always schedule another time."

An immediate answer, "No."

Ulquiorra changed the subject, "Who is that woman who claimed to know you? The one who is pregnant."

"She's Ichigo's wife. Rukia Kuchiki."

Ulquiorra recalled nearly crashing into Ichigo's car and how he literally attacked Orihime, "Ah, you mean the Kurosaki boy."

"Yeah. That's the one."

"They all seem to want to know where you went 9 years ago. Mind filling me in?"

Orihime inhaled deeply and slowly began her story, "Nine years ago, I fell in love with a boy called Ichigo Kurosaki. I never once told him that I liked him because I was scared. I was always envious of Rukia because she was so confident and outstanding and I didn't know she liked Ichigo too. Then one day Rukia told me that I should open myself up a little more and be a little more confident so I plucked up the courage to tell Ichigo that I liked him, but when I confronted him he told me that he was going to marry Rukia." She paused for him to take in what she just said.

Ulquiorra nodded, "I'm following what you're saying so far. To be honest, when I first saw the Kurosaki boy talk to you, I kind of knew that there was something going on with you and him."

"Am I really that obvious?"

"No. I just pay attention to every little detail."

Orihime chuckled slightly her face was still dripping in tears somehow she managed to continue, "I couldn't face Rukia or Ichigo after that. I thought we could just be friends so I tried and it just caused me more pain. After that I decided to stop going to school and left Karakura Town."

Ulquiorra finished "So you came here in America."

"Not really. I went to Tokyo for 3 months and stayed in an apartment with my friend. Then I moved to America and stayed in a house with my other friend. I didn't want them to find me, I was afraid that if I saw them I'd have a breakdown."

"I understand. That's why you couldn't look both Mr. Kurosaki and Mrs. Kurosaki in the eyes. You're afraid..." He said softly.

"N-NO! I am not afraid!" she snapped as she stood up.

Ulquiorra stood up after her and looked her straight in the eye, "You just said you were afraid of having a breakdown."

She moved her face right in front of his, "I'm not afraid!"

Suddenly Ulquiorra lunged forward knocking both of them onto the ground. Orihime's head hit the ground with a loud thump; her body lay limp on the ground, "Oooooowwww! What did you do that for?" Then she realised he was on all fours right above her body, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Shhhhhhhh. The reporters will hear you. Keep low." He repositioned his body lower against hers; his face was just inches away from hers. She glared, if he tried anything funny she was going to kill him. Another stampede of footsteps and some voices and then it was quiet. Ulquiorra waited for a few minutes to be sure that they didn't come back and then he looked at Orihime below him, "You okay?" Her face was still drenched in tears but at least she'd stopped sobbing.

"I'll survive" she sighed. He got back up and extended his hand to help her back up. She grabbed it with a loud 'smack' and hoisted herself up whilst keeping one hand on the back of her head. Ulquiorra noticed how she winced slightly when her finger prodded the back of her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No it's fine. You were just trying to help me stay hidden." She winced again. Ulquiorra started to get concerned and gestured for her to come forward, "Here. Let me take a look at it." Orihime dragged herself over slowly. He poked and prodded at her scalp, she winced, "You fucking moron. That's called hurting me, not looking at it."

He ignored her, "It doesn't seem to be internally hurt, probably just a bruise."

She turned around, "Shall we get back? We've caused quite a lot of havoc."

Ulquiorra poked her forehead with his index finger and gave it a slight push, "_You're_ causing the havoc. Not me."

Orihime copied what he did, "_You're_ the celebrity, not me."

"_You're_ my wife."

Orihime lifted her hands in the air, "Argh we're getting nowhere with this. Let's just go you stubborn mule." She walked slowly out the door, twisted the door knob and then paused for a moment. Ulquiorra watched her next move carefully, just in case she attacked him all of a sudden.

"Thank you Ulquiorra." Her words lingered in the air for a moment and then a low voice replied, "You're welcome." That was all Orihime needed to hear. Slowly she opened the door and walked out, memorizing the words he said.

"I love my wife and she loves me. That's all there is to our relationship."

A reporter questioned that statement Ulquiorra made, "Is that how Miss Inoue feels about you though?" The question was meant to be directed to Ulquiorra but his golden eyes were intensely focused on Orihime's silver orbs.

"I do. Ulquiorra is my heart and soul, not many people can make that claim." Orihime lied as she linked arms with Ulquiorra. More photo snaps of the couple.

Rukia frowned at the two; she knew that Orihime's type definitely wasn't Ulquiorra but yet again as you grow your taste in men change. Nothing made sense today. Orihime had answered her question confidently but it was a lie and _fake._ She had continued to go with the answer 'I do not know you' and all the others believed her sweet innocent answer it was only Rukia who didn't because she _knew_ the truth.

"Will both of you decide to have a family together?"

Orihime coughed, "P-pardon?"

"Will both of you be having children together was what I meant?"

Orihime coughed again. Ulquiorra pinched himself on the palm of his hand to refrain from laughing out loud, "We haven't even got that far into the marriage yet."

The female reporter blushed, "Oh yes. I'm sorry for asking such a question."

"It's okay. We will be taking our leave now." Ulquiorra smiled at the cameras as he grabbed hold of Orihime's hand. Rukia continued to glare at the two as they made their way to the exit from the corner of the room. Through the crowd of camera men Orihime noticed how Rukia's hands were clenched into tight fist balls, she hadn't realised she'd stopped walking.

Ulquiorra noticed and squeezed her hand, "Are you okay love?"

Orihime snapped her head back around, "I'm fine. Can we go?"

"Do you want me to carry you?"

Orihime forgot about Rukia and turned her attention to her partner. "Who said you could say that?" she snapped in embarrassment. Ulquiorra chuckled, opening an opportunity for people to capture his smile on camera, which was pretty rare. Orihime gritted her teeth to refrain from punching the twit next to her for two reasons One. For bullying her in front of the whole world and Two. For not telling her sooner about what she was dealing with exactly. Someone flashed a bright light in their faces which pissed Orihime off further, "Oh my god. Why can't they stop that habit?"

"What habit?"

"Taking pictures of people's faces from close up. It means that in magazines they write crap about how shit your face looks and I hate to admit that it's true."

"Well I'm not sure about you but my face is perfect."

"Perfect for a scary mask factory…" Orihime sniggered.

Ulquiorra halted all too suddenly making the train of reporters knock each other over like dominoes, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing my honey bean. Let's get going." Orihime sniggered again. She waltzed ahead so Ulquiorra wouldn't have the chance to kill her for her comment on his face.

"What did you call me?" Ulquiorra asked in disbelief. Orihime only laughed as she skipped her way out the building leaving Ulquiorra to shove his way out of the swarming reporters.

Orihime made herself comfortable in his car as she waited for him to emerge from the doors of hell, and surely within a matter of minutes he did. His appearance was a little messed up and he looked a little flustered but he still managed to make himself look cool. Where was the popcorn when you needed it? Orihime sat back in satisfaction as she watched her 'husband' make his way to the car. The whole scene was quite funny. Ulquiorra glared at her through the window, she only smiled innocently and gave a blow kiss to which he glared harder at.

"_Help me!" _He mouthed.

"No." Orihime mouthed back with a smirk playing on her lips. Orihime made a bet to herself he'd make it into the car within 10 minutes and surely enough he did.

"You took your time…" Orihime teased.

"You didn't help me. They're like vultures. One time they cut a piece of my hair and sold it on eBay for £250,000. This time they slapped my butt."

Orihime cracked up in her seat. Ulquiorra put on his seatbelt whilst muttering curses to himself. Orihime continuously kept banging her head on the window whilst she was laughing her ass off. Her shaky hands reached to buckle her belt in a failed attempt. Ulquiorra sighed and did it for her whilst she continued to be in hysterics.

"Would you quit laughing already?"

Orihime laughed out loud playfully, "I'm sorry but this is just plain hilarious! I'm gonna have fun being your wife!"

"I'll make sure you don't." Ulquiorra began driving home. On his way he noticed a small blue mini cooper had been following them from behind for quite a while. Was it just a coincidence? Orihime wasn't aware of anything that was going on. Who was in the passenger seat? It was then Ulquiorra realised a second car was also following them. Was it the paparazzi? _No, I recognize that woman and that other car. _Ulquiorra unconsciously stepped on the accelerate pedal, he naturally did this when people stalked him anyway.

"Whoa there Ulquiorra! This isn't the grand prix!"

"Shut it. I'm tired and hungry." He said as he sped up faster again. He looked into the mirrors to check if the cars were still following; and they were. "Why won't they go away?"

"Who Ulquiorra?" Orihime blinked in confusion at the man who was currently clutching the steering wheel like it was his life in there. His emerald eyes occasionally swivelling from side to side. Orihime looked into the mirror and saw the two cars. "The paparazzi?"

"They always do this." He lied

"Wow. You have it rough and I thought I had it tough. The plus side is we're nearly home anyway."

Ulquiorra shook his head, "No. I need to lose them. Or they'll take pictures of us in the house."

Orihime came up with a crazy idea, "Pull over."

"Are you insane? As soon as we stop they'll get out of their cars and-"

"No. Pull over so we can swap seats." Orihime grinned. She had an idea and it was good. Ulquiorra would probably die of shock but it didn't really matter. This chance only came once in a lifetime.

"No. I'm suspicious. Do you even know how to drive?"

"Of course I do!" She lied.

Ulquiorra considered for a moment and then shook his head vigorously, "No. Too risky."

"Aww! Come on man!" Orihime jabbed him in the cheek, hard. It left a pink mark which slowly faded back to his whitish skin colour.

Ulquiorra slapped her hand away, "Quit that!"

"Pull over." She poked him again making sure it was harder and more punishing.

"Violence and annoyance is your way of getting what you want, isn't it?"

"Yup, now pull over."

Ulquiorra sighed but did so. Silently Orihime let herself a '_yessss' _before she willingly unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. Ulquiorra silently cursed himself for letting this happen. _Why am I so weak? Damn these women and their ways!_

Orihime almost tripped out of excitement. Sure she'd never driven a car but who cared? If it meant scaring the shit out of Ulquiorra, it'd be worth it. Just as she got out she was violently shoved against the car, her arms were pinned down beside her waist by strong hands so she couldn't really move.

"Ow! who the fuck are you?" she snapped as she slowly peered up to whoever was pinning her down. Big mistake.

"You answer my question first. Why are you ignoring me?" Ichigo smirked. She looked him dead in the eyes and wiggled a bit. Ichigo pressed his body harder against hers to restrain her movements completely.

Orihime sucked in a large amount of air it nearly made her gag, "Go away."

"I will when you give me an answer."

"Because you're a fucking retard." Orihime stuck her lower lip out and blew a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

"A proper answer." Ichigo growled. Orihime had no intention of _ever_ telling him the truth. He didn't deserve to know anyway. _What had I done to deserve this treatment? _Just then someone yelled out Ichigo's name. Both Ichigo and Orihime snapped their heads to the left to set eyes on Rukia with her arms folded, "What the hell are you doing here?" Her question was directed to Ichigo.

Upon seeing Rukia Ichigo immediately released Orihime and removed himself from her, "Shouldn't I be asking you the same? You're meant to be in Japan."

Orihime watched the tension between the two. Weren't they husband and wife?

Rukia left her car and approached Ichigo, "I have my reasons. You do know Orihime's married right?"

"Yes." He answered simply.

Rukia stood in front of the two orange heads, "Good. Because now I can do _this_." She violently kneed Ichigo in the stomach causing him to fall back and wince in pain. "What the hell was that for Rukia?"

"You stupid idiot! When we divorced you knew the reason why. I specifically told you not to let Orihime marry someone else otherwise my sacrifice would have been wasted. Now look at this mess! Orihime is married to Ulquiorra Schiffer!" Rukia yelled.

Orihime watched as the two snapped at each other in fury. _Did I just hear correctly? They were divorced? Why? WHY?_

"I would've claimed her mine _long_ ago if I _knew_ where on this planet she was!" Ichigo yelled back.

Orihime's heart skipped a beat. _Who are they talking about? Is it me? Why?_

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you're disrupting the peace here."

Everyone turned around to see Ulquiorra. He kept a straight face and walked around to Orihime's side. His hands were wedged in his trouser pockets, "I had a feeling you were following me."

"Me or him?" Rukia asked.

"Both. I could just about see you and I recognised his car." He nodded towards Ichigo.

"You knew?" Orihime hissed quietly.

Ulquiorra ignored her he was more interested in the raven headed girl, "It seems you two aren't together."

"Got that right." Ichigo muttered. "We divorced _years_ ago."

Orihime couldn't believe her ears. The information just wouldn't sink in, "I'm sorry. I don't quite understand."

Ichigo smiled softly, "Why don't we talk this over with a cup of coffee? I've been willing to tell you so much but you were nowhere to be found."

"You'd better not be hitting on my wife." Ulquiorra interrupted. Ichigo's smile faded away almost instantly. Rukia slapped Ichigo on the head, "You missed your chance bastard. This is the last time I'm going to lend you a hand." And then she turned to Ulquiorra, "Mr Schiffer. Please would you just allow Ichigo a few hours to smooth things over with Orihime? Right now he isn't in his right state of mind and he wouldn't be the type to make a move on a married woman."

Ulquiorra hesitated for a moment and then nodded his head for permission, "Mrs Kurosaki-"

Rukia snorted, "Please. Mrs Abarai."

Orihime's jaw dropped, "You're married to Renji?"

Rukia nodded, "I'll deal with you later Orihime. You will have to answer my question when I meet you again."

"Mrs Abarai. How about I have some tea with you?" Ulquiorra offered.

"Tea is fine." she turned to Ichigo, "Don't screw this up you dim wit."

Ichigo grinned, "I won't. Thanks Rukia."

"Che. Shall we go then Mr Schiffer?"

"Fine with me. We'll go by my car." He turned to Orihime, "I'll pick you up at this very spot at three fifty. Don't be late."

Orihime watched as Ulquiorra helped Rukia into his car before he got in and drove off. Ichigo stared at Orihime without realising. She turned to face him with a confused look, "Go on then. I want to know the truth."

"Where to start?"

"Anywhere."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, "Well… It's hard to explain. Rukia and I had a complicated relationship. Lets walk as we talk." He started a slow pace, and kept his eyes glued to the pavement. Orihime did the same for the sake of avoiding eye contact. For a few minutes it was awkwardly silent until Orihime broke it, "Why did you divorce?"

"Like I said before. Our relationship was and still is complicated. "

Orihime snapped her head up, "I don't see that as a reason for your divorce."

Ichigo looked deep into her eyes, "Oh! no, no, no! That isn't the real reason why I got divorced. It was because of you-"

"Oh! So you blame me for your failed marriage? Is that what you wanted to tell me? Well you can shove it up your asshole." Orihime interrupted as she shouted in anger. She made sure she shoved him hard enough in the chest for him to stumble back.

"No! That's not what I meant Inoue!"

"Then what did you mean! Were you implying that I'm a slut that likes to get in-between peoples marriages?" Orihime didn't want to yell at Ichigo but he was pushing it too far for her to handle

Ichigo cupped Orihime's cheeks, "No! Let me explain! You don't understand!"

She stared into his chocolate brown eyes, they showed no evidence that he was lying and so she immediately calmed down and removed her face away from his soft hands. "Go on then."

"After you left Karakura town everyone went looking for you. We searched the whole area and we even went to the police. Uryu took the trains that went to Tokyo and searched up on CCTV but we couldn't find you. We didn't even stop after Rukia and I got married. Everyone was going to give up a year later; apart from me and I got so involved in trying to find you that Rukia told me that I didn't love her. Not the way I used to at least. So we got divorced and I spent years trying to figure out what she meant and then I realised…" Ichigo paused dramatically.

Orihime didn't like waiting for the next part, "Realised what? That you made a big mistake in letting her go? What?"

"I don't think that I can ever tell you. After all you're in love with Ulquiorra Schiffer and you deserve to be loved by someone who can make you happy."

Orihime snorted. _If he knew the truth he wouldn't be saying all this._ Orihime changed the subject to avoid things getting uneasy, "So the baby isn't yours?"

"No. It's mine."

Orihime wasn't sure she heard right, "What?"

Ichigo chuckled, "I'm just kidding Hime. It's Renji's"

"Fuck you Ichigo." She made sure he heard her nice and clearly and then she realised he'd just called her by her nickname referring to 'princess'.

"What happened to the sweet you? The Hime I know would never say that to anyone, especially me."

"Times change. I thought you of all people would know that." She muttered miserably. Every minute she spent with him made her heart beat faster. It was so hard not to leap into his arms and cry.

"True but the change is pretty dramatic. At least you're talking to me again." He smiled softly. _Ahh that smile, so powerful yet gentle. How I miss that._

Orihime raised an eyebrow, "I wouldn't say I'm talking to you again. More along the lines of arguing."

"It doesn't matter. As long as you're saying _something_ to me." He pinched her cheeks playfully. She sniffed the air and found the scent of strawberry. _Ah, how I miss Ichigo's scent. Ichigo…I still love you…_

"Orihime? You okay? You seem a little distracted."

"You done with talking?" she replied sarcastically.

Ichigo knew it was sarcasm but still frowned in response, "No. I have more. Where did you go nine years ago?"

"That's to be kept secret by me. Besides, wouldn't it be obvious now that you see me in America." She laughed, "Anymore?"

"Why did you go?"

"That's also something that I should keep to myself."

"Orihime, that's not fair play. I told you what happened to us. Isn't it fair if you explained what happened to you?"

Orihime couldn't take it anymore. Being with Ichigo was so heartbreaking; she was at her limit before she would burst out crying. Taking a deep breath and plucking up all the courage she had left in her she said out loud and clear, "You know what Ichigo? I've had enough of your stupid fucking excuses. Why don't you just back off and leave me alone!" She pushed him away violently and trampled her way down the streets. She could feel the tears threatening to spill out so she bit the inside of her cheek as a distraction. Ichigo ran after her, "Orihime!"

"Go away!" She spat. The taste of iron invaded her mouth and the tears began welling up into larger dews that settled on her lower eyelid. By the time she reached the end of the road Ichigo had caught up and grabbed her arm, "Orihime! Let me just say this!"

"Get off me!" She hissed. Ichigo could plainly see that she was upset but he needed to tell her before it was too late. Orihime continued to struggle away from his grip and he continued to tighten his grip whenever she tried. Eventually she managed to pry his hands of her and then when she was just about to run Ichigo yelled out something she'd never expect him to ever do. She stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly, "What?"

His face was flustered from running but at the same time he was serious. Taking a deep breath he repeated a little louder, "I love you."


	7. Fame

**A/N: Hey. Unfortunately this wasn't a double release however I did release my other story 'All I want is this' feel free to check it out even though it's still in progress (another Ulquihime XD). This chapter was slightly rushed so there might be a few mistake and it might not be up to standara but hey, I did my best!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 7 – Fame**

Orihime stood frozen in the middle of the streets, unable to let his words take root to her brain. Ichigo strolled up to Orihime, "I've always loved you. I know that now."

Automatically Orihime stepped back away from him, "You're a liar."

"I'm not. It's the complete truth." He replied calmly. He stepped forward and reeled her in for a hug. Yet again she shoved him, "Get away from me you cheat! I hate you!"

"No you don't. I've always been clueless when it came to you but I've sort of known that you've always loved me too."

"I fucking _hate _you… You always just come back to just hurt me…I'm going to get married to Ulquiorra in a two weeks and I'd really appreciate it if you'd just back off."

A hurt expression flickered across Ichigo's face, "But you don't love him do you? You've already given your heart to me long ago."

"No. Her heart was given to me."

Ichigo turned around to see Ulquiorra standing with his arms folded, his expression was emotionless but he still looked pretty pissed. Orihime couldn't have been any happier with Ulquiorra's timing, Ichigo was pushing her to her limit and she was going to cry, if Ulquiorra hadn't interrupted her feelings for Ichigo would have been uprooted.

Ichigo scowled, "How do you know that? You've only been with her for a few weeks; I've been with her for nearly half my life now!"

"Love doesn't have to be based on how long you've known someone. In answer to your ridiculous question I know because she is going through with the marriage." Ulquiorra scowled back.

"How do you know she's not marrying you for money?" Ichigo snapped. Orihime gasped and covered her mouth unable to believe what Ichigo had just said about her. Ulquiorra smirked knowing full well that Ichigo blew his whole moment with Orihime. Ichigo turned to her to see tears falling down her cheek and then he realised what he just said, "Oh my God. What have I done?"

"You insolent fool. Is _that_ what you call loving Orihime?" Ulquiorra quickly made his way to Orihime and pulled her in for a tight hug before pulling away and asking her, "Shall we go?"

Ichigo watched as Orihime nodded slowly through her tears, Ulquiorra stroked her hair before taking her hand and leading her back to his car. Ulquiorra pressed his lips to Orihime's cheeks and whispered, "You okay?" It wasn't that he loved her, it was just acting but he still did care about other people's feelings.

"Thank you…Ulquiorra." She whispered back.

"You don't need to. Just keep the love act up and we'll be okay when we get home."

Orihime nodded and Ulquiorra opened the door for her, "I'll deal with Kurosaki."

"What?"

"I'll be back." He stated simply as he closed the door making sure he locked it. Orihime panicked and automatically slammed her hands onto the window, "No. Not a good idea!"

Ulquiorra couldn't hear her and made his way in front of Ichigo. Orihime pulled on the handle but the door wouldn't budge. She had to warn Ulquiorra that Ichigo was an extremely experienced fighter; there was no way Ulquiorra would be able to beat him in a duel. Ichigo could crush anyone with his strength, he also had an unfair advantage seeing he was 5ft9 and Ulquiorra was around 5ft6, "You can't fight him! He'll kill you for sure! There's no stopping him when he's unstable!" If he wouldn't listen she'd have to stop them before they conflicted in a battle.

Ichigo kept his eyes on Ulquiorra, "What are you going to do?"

"Leave Orihime alone." He commanded

"Why should I? I love her and she loves me. I'm going to sweep her off her feet and take her far away from you."

"I think that it's too late for that. I'm warning you. If you meddle in my affairs you'll be finding yourself locked up behind bars. Heed this warning; it'll save your life."

Ichigo's blood boiled with rage, he swiped a punch at Ulquiorra who neatly dodged. Orihime's jaw dropped, no one was ever able to dodge _that_ attack. Nevertheless the next attack was sure to injure Ulquiorra; she had to stop him from pissing Ichigo off to the point where he'd kill. Back in Karakura Ichigo was known to go crazy if someone pissed him off. For years he suffered with this condition until his dad found out and sent him to an asylum, after that Ichigo more or less recovered but not fully. Sometimes you could see the colour change in his eyes and that meant that Ichigo was going to go crazy so people would back off. But when Ichigo went crazy it was like someone else was in control so his closest friends named 'his other self' Hichigo.

"I don't want to fight you, I just want a negotiation. Believe me you're not doing yourself any favours here." Ulquiorra stated as he readjusted his tie.

Ichigo lowered his fists, "And I want is Orihime, I know she doesn't love you."

Orihime watched as the two began talking. No, more like arguing. This wasn't good. Orihime had to think of something and quick. Ihcigo's eyes were changing from chocolate brown to black.

"You son of a bitch!"

"I dare you to say that to me again Kurosaki. Believe me your not helping your sorry ass."

Ichigo unexpectedly swiped and landed a punch on Ulquiorra's cheek. Orihime could see that it was bruising and there was a small open cut that was oozing out blood.

"How d'you feel now?" Ichigo sneered.

"Not bad. You're going to pay for that." Ulquiorra raised his fist. Orihime then came up with an idea, why hadn't she done this before? It always worked no matter what situation she was in and then she let out a loud scream that caught Ichigo's and Ulquiorra's attention.

"Orihime!"

"Miss Inoue!"

Ulquiorra and Ichigo scrambled to get to Orihime. Orihime let out another loud scream that seemed to last forever and made it seem like she was afraid of something, which made Ichigo and Ulquiorra speed up. Ichigo almost crashed into the door when he stopped running, "Orihime! What's wrong?" He banged his fists on the window; he turned to Ulquiorra, "Open the damn door!"

Ulquiorra began fidgeting for his car keys and unlocked the car. Ichigo yanked open the door, "Orihime what's wrong?"

"Where's Ulquiorra?" she asked desperately. "I want Ulquiorra!"

Ulquiorra stepped forward, "Orihime, I'm here. What is it?"

"Ulquiorra! I want to go home…" she pulled away from Ichigo's grip on her shoulders and placed her forehead and hands on Ulquiorra's chest, "I want to go home…"

"We'll go home now." Ulquiorra helped her back into the car. "I'll deal with you the next time we meet." His warning was directed to Ichigo.

"Fine…Just take care of Orihime…She sometimes gets scared on her own."

"You don't need to tell me." After that Ulquiorra drove home like a maniac before stopping to a halt in front of his house. Orihime had continued to act terrified but Ulquiorra had seen through it.

"What did you do that for?"

"What?" she said cluelessly.

Ulquiorra sighed, "Why did you stop me from beating up that little punk?"

Orihime sat up straighter, "I didn't tell you to do that. I was handling the situation well."

"Sure. Crying will handle the situation will it? You sure looked like you were coping." He said sarcastically.

"I was! You weren't that much better either!" Orihime retorted. She could feel the tension between her and him, no doubt was an argument about to break out.

"How am I not better?"

"Take a look in the mirror! You can see for yourself!" she snapped.

"At least I stood my ground! I doubt that you can do that." Ulquiorra yelled and then he stopped to wince in pain as the cut on his cheek was throbbing. Orihime noticed and automatically went into nursing mode, "Don't touch it. It'll just infect it."

"But it hurts."

"Let's get in the house where I can disinfect it and see how bad the wound is."

Ulquiorra nodded and passed Orihime the car keys so she could lock the car afterwards. He stepped out and opened the front door and then gradually making his way to the living room. Orihime followed soon after, she didn't even bother wondering how she found the living room and continued to nurse Ulquiorra who was lying on the sofa with his head dangling of the edge. Orihime softly sat beside him, leaning over slightly so she could carefully pry his hand away from his cheek only to reveal a large cut that was bleeding quite badly.

"How bad is it?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I can't really see, there's too much blood. I'll be back just don't touch it. It's swollen a bit." Orihime stood up and headed for the kitchen which was linked to the living room luckily. She grabbed a random towel and rinsed it under the tap with hot water.

"Miss Inoue?" Ulquiorra moaned.

"Don't talk. It'll only stretch the cut and make it bleed more." Orihime snapped as she switched the tap off and squeezed the towel until it was damp. Ulquiorra laid on the sofa as still as a cat with his eyes closed. He was thinking about the relationship between Ichigo and Orihime, for some reason, it made his blood boil slightly. "Damn that Kurosaki boy.", he muttered not noticing that the sofa fell a little lower.

"What did you say?" Orihime chimed all of a sudden. Ulquiorra's eyes flew open to see Orihime leaning over his face causing him to bolt upright and smack foreheads.

"Argh…Ow…" Ulquiorra groaned as he rubbed one hand on his forehead and the other pushing against the sofa to keep him upright.

"Ulquiorra! That hurt!" Orihime whined as she rubbed her forehead as well.

"You have one hard head." Ulquiorra muttered with his eyes closed as he continued to massage the sore area of his head.

"So do you. Why did you do that so suddenly?" Orihime said quietly. She could feel a bump swelling slightly.

"Your face shocked me. What were _you_ doing looming over me?"

"That's not nice Ulquiorra. I thought you were asleep but it turns out you weren't." Orihime laughed a little and then all fell silent. Ulquiorra lowered his hand down slightly and opened his eyes so he could see why Orihime had stopped whining. In fact she was staring back into his eyes. Both of them took in each other's appearances for a while, Orihime noticed that Ulquiorra wasn't a bad looker, he could be considered attractive. Her eyes trailed down to his lips and then she suddenly realised what she was doing and shook her head to rid herself from the thought at the same moment she had shoved the dampened cloth onto Ulquiorra's cut quite roughly.

"Ouch!"

Orihime released the cloth letting it drop onto the leather sofa and gasped, "Sorry! I wasn't paying attention."

Ulquiorra shifted away from Orihime slightly, "I don't trust your nursing skills."

"No it's alright. Honestly, I won't hurt you." Orihime picked up the damp towel and slowly dabbed it on his wound.

"Since when did you learn to take care of peoples wounds?"

Orihime stopped dabbing the blood covered cut and paused a moment before answering something that Ulquiorra couldn't quiet catch. He sat up a little straighter, "Pardon?"

Orihime sighed, "It doesn't matter." She continued to dab his wound a little harder so the blood would come off.

"Thank you Orihime."

Orihime froze. It was the first time he called her by her first name when he was not acting. For a moment she considered answering back but shook her head of the thought. She nodded in appreciation and continued nursing his cheek quietly even though the blood was now gone.

"Miss Inoue-"

"I'm done!" Orihime chimed as she slapped on a plaster that stuck on to cover up the swelled up cut.

Ulquiorra touched the plaster lightly, "Oh. Thank you."

"No big deal… But what to do with Ichigo…"

Ulquiorra frowned, "I'm sorry if I offended you-"

"For what? Ichigo deserved it." Orihime's voice trembled slightly and Ulquiorra could tell that she didn't actually mean it. The subject of Ichigo always seem to hurt her and Ulquiorra didn't like seeing people in pain so he changed the subject, "What to do now?"

Orihime shrugged and headed back to the kitchen to rinse the towel. "I guess I'll go back to Grimmjow to work." She called out.

Ulquiorra immediately stood up, "No."

Orihime turned around; her hands were still preoccupied, "Why?"

"The paparazzi. They'll find out where you work and God knows what my mum will do to you let alone what people will write about me."

Orihime huffed, "You just care about you're popularity." And then she paused for a moment to switch the running tap of and twist the towel so the water came rushing out, "What will your mum do to me?"

"At the most, beat you up to pulp." He said monotonely.

Orihime dropped the rag in her hands and spun around almost too quickly, "What?"

"Well, mum can be more extreme if she dislikes someone so at the most imprison you."

Orihime was almost on the verge to stabbing herself with a kitchen knife. _Why did I choose to do this?_

"But don't worry. At least you won't die."

Orihime's jaw dropped, "Why? Why did I choose to marry you with a maniac killing family." She stormed over to Ulquiorra and jabbed him in the shoulder, "Why do you like dragging people into your god forsaken mess?"

"I don't. People like you just don't know what you're dealing with. Back to the point, I want you to quit your job with Grimmjow."

"How about my other jobs?"

"Quit those too. I already have a job in mind for you."

Orihime groaned. Ulquiorra opened his mouth when his doorbell rang saving Orihime from anymore torturous words.

"You stay there. I'm not done talking with you." Ulquiorra warned. Orihime rolled her eyes but nodded unwillingly and then in a flash Ulquiorra disappeared. Fortunately this house was so empty that you could hear who was at the door miles away especially when a loud voice like Grimmjow's boomed through the whole house.

"Dude! I just saw ya interview! What da hell?" Grimmjow snapped.

"Grimmjow, why do you always have to yell?" Ulquiorra poked his ear with his little finger as if Grimmjow had made it deaf. Orihime slunk onto the sofa in doom. Sure Grimmjow would be angry, after all him and Ulquiorra were lovers and the poor man probably was shocked out of his mind to find his lover marrying somebody else who was a girl.

"Is that what ya using Orihime for? Ya little punk!" Orihime sensed the anger rising in his voice. _Oh boy is this gonna get messy._

"Grimmjow. Orihime's in here right now and I think-"

Before Ulquiorra could finish Grimmjow shoved his way inside the house all the way to the living room to find her sitting on the sofa like she was doomed.

"Hey boss…" She muttered.

"Is this true?" He demanded.

"Yeah. I'm getting married to bat man here." Orihime muttered again. "Oh, and apparently I have to quit working at your place."

"What?" Grimmjow's face was bright red, like a tomato. Ulquiorra found it hard not to squirt water onto it. But then Ulquiorra thought of the consequences; a beaten face and a broken body. Now it seemed less tempting.

Orihime buried her head in between her knees and muffled out, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"Hell ya better be sorry! I almost choked on the air when I saw it on telly. Ya didn't tell me you knew Ulquiorra!"

"Grimmjow keep your voice down. Miss Inoue's been through a lot today and you'll break my house if you don't calm down." Ulquiorra pointed out.

Grimmjow turned around to him in rage, "How can I be calm?"

"I'm so sorry Grimmjow." Orihime said with her head still in between her knees.

The blunette snapped his head in Orihime's direction, "What the hell are ya sorry for? It's this bastard here who should be sorry!" he turned back to Ulquiorra pointed a shaky finger just inches away from his plain face.

"I agree with you. This is all Ulquiorra's fault, but I promise you, it'll be over in 6 months and then you can have him back." Orihime said tiredly.

"Why would I have him back?" Grimmjow asked. Orihime heard the confusion in his voice. Obviously he wouldn't take Ulquiorra back now that he's found out Ulquiorra's a backstabbing two timer.

Orihime lifted her head up, "I know your secret. You don't have to be ashamed of it."

Both men looked at each other in confusion then at Orihime. "What secret?" Ulquiorra and Grimmjow asked in unison.

Orihime paused and stuck out her bottom lip, "You're gay. Don't worry, I know and I understand why Ulquiorra is using me."

There was an awkward silence which Orihime found a bit weird and then she heard laughing. Grimmjow was cracking up on the floor banging it repeatedly with his clenched hands and Ulquiorra was sniggering whilst clutching his stomach like it was going to split.

"What's so funny? Are you happy?" Orihime sat hugging her knees.

Grimmjow laughed harder and began banging his head on the floor repeatedly, then he started rolling around like a dog but he was still laughing and clutching his belly. Ulquiorra on the other hand was calming down but he was holding onto the kitchen counter to stop himself from falling.

"What is so funny?"

"Miss Inoue… Please be quiet for a moment you're making it worse." Ulquiorra coughed her chuckled slightly but stood up straighter. Grimmjow continued to laugh like a maniac, it was getting on Orihime's nerves so she did what she thought would be appropriate. She stood up and kicked him in the hips which did work a bit.

"Grimmjow get off the floor." Orihime towered above him with her hand on her hips.

"Miss Inoue…let me just clarify something…we're not gay." Ulquiorra pointed out from the corner of the room. Grimmjow laughed a little harder but he was calming down.

"You're not…gay."

Grimmjow stood up and looked down at Orihime, "Hella no! Ya think I'd like men? No way in hell! Even if I was gay I would never date this emo here!"

"But, the signs… the evidence…" Orihime stuttered.

"Miss Inoue. You have a strange way of thinking. When was there ever any evidence that we were lovers?"

Orihime stood in the living room mortified. It was true. There was no evidence that proved they were gay. All along Ulquiorra hadn't known what she was talking about… how stupid she must've looked!

Grimmjow sniggered, "If ya thought I was gay ya musta thought Nel was a lesbian!"

Orihime frowned, "No. Nel is normal just a little immature."

"Grimmjow. Can you leave now? I have some things to discuss with Miss Inoue alone."

"You call Orihime by her surname. Aren't you getting married soon? Doesn't that give you the right to call her by her first name?"

Ulquiorra could've shot himself for saying her surname, "Yes. But I don't like to say her first name. Not until we're married at least."

"But you're engaged. Isn't that close enough? Or is there something else going on here?" Grimmjow swivelled his eye to look at Orihime lazily. For a moment she stood there blushing and then she remembered her task, "Ulquiorra's just messing with your head. Can you leave now?" she looked at Ulquiorra who was telling her something. He was shaking his head vigorously and pointing at himself. Orihime became confused and continued, "I have wedding plans to make."

Grimmjow raised his eyebrows whilst Ulquiorra slapped his forehead. Orihime's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. The blunette turned to Orihime, "But you're not meant to make the wedding plans. Ulquiorra's mum and grandma are meant to. Why are you doing it? It's traditional in their family that the bride doesn't do anything."

Orihime laughed nervously, "Erm… Well I'd rather help than relax." She raised her left hand to scratch her nose. A very big mistake. Grimmjow's panther like eyes spotted she had no engagement ring on it and he grabbed her hand. Orihime didn't know what was going on but Ulquiorra knew that his best friend was more intelligent than he looked.

"Grimmjow. What are you doing?" Orihime asked innocently.

"Where's ya engagement ring?" Grimmjow looked her dead in the eye. Orihime swallowed hard, her hand became sweaty. _Why is Grimmjow so curious?_ "The wedding ring was too big. We sent it off to resize it."

Ulquiorra choked on his own saliva. Grimmjow opened his mouth to point out something before Ulquiorra barely stopped him, "Grimmjow. Who's in charge of Pantera at the moment?"

The blunettes eyes widened at the sudden realization that Pantera was under the care of Nel who barely knew how to do anything, "Shit!" he released Orihime's hand and ran out the door before hastily yelling, "I'm not done with ya yet!"

Orihime listened to his footsteps fade and for the door to slam shut before collapsing onto the sofa. Ulquiorra strolled up and collapsed beside her, "Grimmjow is too much."

"That was scary. _He_ is scary." Orihime breathed as she closed her eyes. "That was too close. I don't think I can cope with that every day."

"Nor do I. I think I need to take a shower."

"You go do that. I want to sleep." Orihime mumbled as she waved her hand dismissively.

Ulquiorra got off the sofa and stretched a bit, "You can't. We still have a lot of things to do. This includes you learning about my family."

Orihime moaned in distress, "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"No. Tomorrow we have to go shopping."

"Why?"

Ulquiorra sighed and walked off, "We're ditching your ugly style of dressing and we're going to buy some nice clothes."

Orihime sat up. "What's wrong with my style of dressing?" she pouted.

Ulquiorra disappeared down the hallway but answered loud enough for her to hear, "It's lame."

Orihime made a sound of indignation and flung herself back onto the sofa, "Why did I choose to marry this fool? Why?"

"I heard that." His voice echoed down the hallways.

"Stop eavesdropping on me! That's really scary behaviour!" she shouted.

"I can just hear how loud your voice is. I'm not eavesdropping."

"Stop with the smart talk! I'm gonna watch some telly!" Orihime grabbed the remote that sat on the glass table and pressed the red button, nothing happened and as if Ulquiorra was psychic he called out, "The switch isn't switched on."

"I knew that." Orihime lied. "Aren't you meant to have a shower?" she turned around in case he was standing right behind her ready to scare her. He wasn't.

"I'm getting my clothes ready." He called out.

"I must say Ulquiorra you are such a girl." Orihime poked her head behind the TV and flicked the switch on before heading back to the sofa and making herself comfortable. There was no answer back just the sound of the shower turning on. Orihime sighed and flicked channels until she stopped at one interesting one. It was a music video but the lady who was singing looked like Ulquiorra. Her voice was beautiful and her looks were just unexplainable. She had the exact same green eyes, skin and hair colour as Ulquiorra, the resemblance shocked Orihime.

_You seem like the type,_

_To love em and leave em,_

_And disappear right after this song._

_So give me the night,_

_To show you, hold you,_

_Don't leave me out here dancin alone…_

Orihime recognised the lyrics, it was from Eeenie Meenie. She didn't really like the song but the way this woman sang it made it sound more…emotional? Before Orihime could notice the song was over and it went straight to an interview with the woman as the main subject.

The woman smiled and said gently, _"I want to thank my friends and family whom gave me confidence to sing this song."_

An unknown person asked a question that caught Orihime's attention, _"Have you heard the recent news of your son's engagement?"_

"_I have, and I'm very happy for him and his partner."_

"_Have you met her before?"_

"_I have no, however she'll be coming to me in a few days time. From what I heard her name means princess; let's hope her personality is like one." _The woman laughed jokingly.

Was it by coincidence that she looked like Ulquiorra? Was it coincident she had a son who was getting married to a girl called Orihime? If so, Orihime had married into a family of fame and wealth, one foot wrong and her head would be off.

"_Thank you Mrs Schiffer for donating some of your time with us…"_

"_No problem. Goodbye."_

Orihime froze on the couch upon hearing the woman's surname was 'Schiffer'. It couldn't possibly be true, could it?

Out of nowhere Ulquiorra said, "It seems like you've met and seen my mum now."

* * *

A/N: Hope the contents kept you satisfied this time. Unlike a certain _someone_ who wrote a negative review without fully understanding the plot last time, please read the basic plotline on my profile if you do not understand. Thanx!


	8. Staying Over

**A/N: Hey! This update wasn't so late. It was actually completed a few days ago but I forgot to do a little tweaking to it and upload it. Anyway hope the contents in this chapter satisfies you, believe me there is a VERYshort but HOT Ulquihime scene here XD! There is a bit more chunky bits of texts so just try and get through those, Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 8 – Staying over**

"That's your mum?" Orihime pointed at the TV screen in astonishment.

"I just said so. Shouldn't it be obvious?"

Orihime's jaw dropped. "You never told me your mum was a nationwide famous singer!" she stuttered.

Ulquiorra placed his finger onto his chin and thought for a moment, "No. I believe I didn't. My mistake Miss Inoue."

"Is there anything else you wish to tell me before I rush recklessly into this marriage?" Orihime glared as she crossed her arms.

Ulquiorra lowered his hand to think and then headed for the kitchen, "I don't think so."

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime tapped her foot patiently waiting for a proper answer. There was bound to be more secrets he kept, surely. If his mom was a celeb singer and he was a celeb composer then his grandma must've been a legend in her younger years!

"What? There isn't anything important anyway." Ulquiorra grabbed a glass cup from the bottom cabinet and held it below the tap, "Well to me there's nothing really important." He switched on the cold water until his cup was half way full.

"I will find out sooner or later. The things you think are unimportant are important to me."

Ulquiorra took a sip from his cup, "Okay. I have hay fever."

"Stop messing around Ulquiorra! Seriously now…"

"Okay. My grandma's cousin is the leader of district 1." He said casually. He took another sip from his cup.

Orihime almost choked and she managed to cough out something, "Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto?"

"That's correct. My full name is Ulquiorra Shigekuni Yamamoto Schiffer." He stated proudly before draining his cup completely.

Orihime coughed again, "Do you know how blickin' cheesy that sounds?"

"_Do you_ know how cheesy it is for you to be called Orihime when you have a completely different personality from your name?" Ulquiorra countered. He rinsed his cup under the tap, dried it with a towel and placed it back gently into the cabinet. "And it doesn't sound right when you talk slang."

"Fuck you Ulquiorra!"

He straightened his back and turned around, "I dare you then."

"Fine. Just make sure you won't regret it."Orihime scowled.

Ulquiorra strolled up to her, "On the contrary, it'll be _you_ who regrets it." And then without warning he backed Orihime onto the sofa where she lied flat onto her back. Ulquiorra positioned himself in between her legs and kept his upper frame hovering above her with both his arms besides her face.

Orihime blushed madly. He was serious, wasn't he? What had she done?

Ulquiorra lowered his head so that it was closer to her face, his hair made a dark curtain like shadow over the two. He moved closer and closer until his lips were inches away from hers, Orihime swore it was déjà vu and then her breathing became slightly more needy. Ulquiorra allowed his lips to faintly touch hers and then he smirked and murmured, "I thought we agreed, Miss Inoue, not to have any sexual contact."

Orihime realised that she'd almost broken one of her top rules and hissed, "Get off me!"

Ulquiorra happily complied and offered a hand to help her up to which she declined. He smiled playfully, "Well I'll be going to take my lovely refreshing shower now. I feel I need it after touching you."

Orihime gently kicked him in the stomach, "You dirty bastard."

Ulquiorra didn't seem to mind that he was just kicked. He was happy that Orihime had just lost a battle. Slowly he walked off to the bathroom leaving Orihime fuming on the couch.

After Ulquiorra finished showering and changing, Orihime stormed straight into the shower room without thinking twice, she was still pretty pissed off at the incident in the living room.

It took her an hour in the shower and Ulquiorra wasn't happy that she was wasting so much water. He stood outside the door listening to her hum a tune that was completely improvised. It was getting late and he had a lot to discuss with her and she had a lot to learn, "Miss Inoue. How long is the process of taking a shower?"

Orihime continued humming to herself pretending not to hear Ulquiorra. She opened the shower gel bottle lid and squeezed out the gooey stuff onto her hand where it made a slurping sound. Ulquiorra knocked on the door; Orihime ignored it again and placed the bottle back onto the stand and slathered the contents in her hand onto her body. The bubbles began to appear and then slide off her body and disappeared down the plug hole.

Ulquiorra decided to threaten her as a last resort, "Miss Inoue, I'm going to switch of the central heating if you won't come out."

"I'm almost done Ulquiorra."She lied.

"You'd better be… you have 1000 people to remember."

Orihime switched the shower off, "What?"

"The 1000 most important people worldwide with strong ties to the Schiffer family are going to be attending out wedding. If you don't learn them it'll leave a bad impression on us and who knows what my mum will do to you."

Orihime gulped and hopped out of the shower before hastily reaching for her towel and tightening it around her body, "I'm coming out." Orihime slowly opened the door and found Ulquiorra standing in front of her with his hands covering his eyes. "What _are_ you doing Ulquiorra?"

"Just go and get changed. I shouldn't be looking at people's bodies." He waved his free hand to signal for her dismissal.

"Ulquiorra, I'm not nude. I have a towel wrapped around."

"I'd still rather not look." He said curtly.

"What are you going to do when your mum stays over here?" Orihime sneered.

"I don't know. Just go and get changed!" He shoved her gently into the hallway almost tripping her up in the process. "Theres some clothes in the bottom drawer of the third cupboard. We'll pick up your clothes tomorrow since today was rushed."

"Whatever emo boy."

Ulquiorra waited until her footsteps disappeared to an unknown area in the house before slowly peeking through his hands to check if she was gone. She was. He lowered his hand and exhaled in relief.

"Good grief. Just what kind of reckless woman have I married?"

Meanwhile Grimmjow had driven back to Pantera like a maniac down the road. Upon realising Nel was in charge he panicked and almost crashed _three_ times in a row. He knew it wasn't a good idea to leave Pantera in the hands of someone who was like a baby but he had a sudden urge to go see Ulquiorra after watching the interview on TV. The news was so shocking that for a moment he thought the paparazzi were playing some sort of crap prank and then he had a flashback from the time Ulquiorra had asked to 'borrow' Orihime for 6 months. Sure he'd never taken much interest in woman even though he owned Pantera with several flirtatious maids, but that was until Orihime had entered the scene and rocked the boat that he had just finally managed to settle. He had to admit she was attractive and he figured she would be easy to figure out; but she wasn't. She was different from others…Unique in a special way. Sure as hell he couldn't love her quite yet, but his feelings were inevitably something similar to love and he wanted to explore this intruding yet mysterious feeling further and then… Ulquiorra got in the way.

Ever since they were kids there was always a competition between the two about who would do well academically and it was always Ulquiorra. It was a strange relationship they had. Sometimes Grimmjow treated Ulquiorra like an arrogant brother but other times he wanted to beat the crap out of the emotionless bastard for just being _who_ he was.

Grimmjow's phone rang and he instantly picked it up, "Nel. If that's ya, what have ya done now?"

"_I'm really sorry Grimmy." _

He sighed and then snapped, "Nel. I told ya to stop calling me by that pussy ass name! What the fuck di'ja do dis time?"

Nel coughed nervously, _"I broke several wine bottles. I'm really sorry."_

"YA DID WHAT?" Grimmjow jerked the steering wheel to quickly causing his car to slide violently to the left. "HOW THE FUCK DI'JA MANAGE DAT?"

"_Well… I kinda tripped on something and my head hit the shelf and all the wine bottles came tumbling down…"_ Nel stuttered

Grimmjow sighed inwardly, "Next time, be more careful. I'll go bankrupt if you keep doing things like that."

"_Understood." _The phone line went dead after that. Grimmjow flipped his phone lid off and chucked it back onto the car storage at the front. Nel was always causing trouble, no matter where she went. It wasn't always completely her to blame for though, it was because of the way her body matured. During her teen years Nel's body matured a little faster than the other girls in her class, her breasts grew to dramatic proportions and her body curved a lot more than should be. This obviously attracted attention from boys in the older years and whenever possible they'd try to corner her and rape her. Luckily Nel had a good friend who was tough and knew martial arts, Tia Harribel, the toughest female student within school. Grimmjow thanked the lord that Tia was born, if she wasn't God knows what would have happened to Nel. Nel was someone special to him, like his best buddy nothing more. He was always protective over her because one day she was caught up in an accident by one of his 'guests' and because of his foolishness Nel was permanently scarred for life. Not only that, she lost a huge part of her memory including the accident, he always did whatever he could to prevent her from remembering it but it wasn't easy seeing as the 'guest' threatened to shut down Pantera if he didn't let him continue coming to the bar. Nel never noticed how the man who assaulted her was always giving her a greedy look, like he wanted to attack her again. Most of the time Grimmjow kept a close eye on him which helped a huge deal.

Grimmjow switched on the radio and a woman's voice came on. No doubt it was Ulquiorra's mum. The woman was always singing songs made by other people but it always made the original artist look like shit compared to her voice. Back when he was little Ulquiorra's mum always spoilt him and Ulquiorra by giving them lots of expensive things and even though Grimmjow was from the local orphanage she always treated him like her own son. His memories were interrupted when his phone rang again. Yet again he picked it up and answered it, "Hello?"

"_Master Jeagerjaques. Nel's done it again." _Loly sighed.

"What! I thought I told her not to go near da pipes! How da fuck did she block it now?"

"_She stuck her finger in and her ring got jammed inside."_

"Why did she stick her fucking finger in?"

"_I dunno… something about spotting something in it."_

Grimmjow groaned and ten he heard someone yell 'I got it out!'.

"_Wait. I think Menoly got it out."_

"Good. When I get back ya better make sure Nel doesn't do anything stupid."

"_Understood…"_ Loly paused and then continued, _"When will you be getting back?" _Her voice was slightly higher than usual and full of hope.

"Any minute now. Just make sure Nel's okay."

Loly grunted and then responded back, _"Understood."_

Grimmjow hung up first and slipped his phone back into his pocket. Boy was this gonna be a long day…

Orihime sat on the couch and crossed her legs whilst drying her hair thoroughly with a towel. Ulquiorra appeared by the door with several books that were unusually big. He frowned when he saw Orihime had dressed into a long t-shirt and shorts, "Miss Inoue. Is it really appropriate for you to dress like that when going to sleep?"

Orihime stopped drying her hair, "Ulquiorra. This is what I usually wear when going to sleep and it was the only non… girly or frilly thing I could find. Almost everyone wears this kind off stuff. Don't you?"

Ulquiorra dropped the books onto the table in front of her and sat down on her left, "Unlike you, I actually have proper pyjamas."

Orihime stared at him, "You wear that every night?" She pointed at his attire.

Ulquiorra looked at his clothing, "Yes. I don't see what's so shocking about that."

"Isn't it annoying? I find the sleeves so long and flabby. It really annoys the shit outta me."

"No. Miss Inoue, can you please refrain yourself from swearing unless it's appropriate." Ulquiorra picked up one of the books and opened it to the front page where it landed on a large picture of an old man with a long silvery beard and long eyebrows. His face was wrinkled and ancient but it couldn't mask the scars that crisscrossed on his forehead. This man was… "Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto." Orihime breathed.

"Oh, you know what he looks like? Well _that's _a surprise." Ulquiorra said sarcastically. Orihime punched him on the arm and then left him clutching it to defend it from anymore attacks Orihime impaled on him. "Ouch. That hurt."

"Shut up Ulquiorra!"

"What did I do?" he protested.

Orihime ignored him and flipped through the pages, each page had one large picture of the most famous people stuck on them with tape holding them by the corners. Orihime kept flipping through, her eyes skimmed across the Captains of each district.

"These people…" she began.

"I know. They're all the captains. It's only me, my mum, my grandma and them who have these books."

Orihime continued to flip through the pages in amusement, there were some faces that many people adored, some that were well known, some weren't, and some were foreign. Ulquiorra watched as Orihime in amusement as she 'ooed' and 'ahhhed' at the people she knew, he gave a small chuckle. Orihime snapped her head round, "What are you laughing at?"

"You're fascination with these people."

"Yeah well you don't get to see these people often!" Orihime went back to flipping through the pages.

"I do. I have to go annually just so we can clarify their ties with the Schiffer family. It's not an easy job."

Orihime closed the book and placed her hand on her lap, "So when you marry me, will I get to see these people?"

"Affirmative. Mind you, the day you meet these people isn't that far away. They're coming to the wedding but my mum will want to meet you early so you have a couple of days to learn."

"When is this day exactly? I'm dreading it."

Ulquiorra thought for a moment, "Soon."

"Ulquiorra! I want a proper answer!"

Ulquiorra squared his shoulders, "I wouldn't know. Mum changes her mind with dates regularly."

"And I have to learn _all_ of _this_!" she pointed a finger at the books.

"Of course not!" Ulquiorra snorted. Orihime sighed in relief and then looked at Ulquiorra curiously as he headed back into some unknown room then reappearing with more books. He dropped it on top of the previous books in front of Orihime and puffed out, "These books as well."

"You had my hopes up…" Orihime muttered miserably.

Ulquiorra smiled, "I know." Then he strolled back into his bedroom whistling a sweet tune on the way. Orihime was sorely tempted to chuck a cushion at the back of his head but it would just cause more problems so she clung onto it, digging her nails in to release some of her frustration.

"Oh, and Miss Inoue."Ulquiorra called out.

Orihime gritted her teeth prepared for another insult or cuss coming her way, "What?"

"Make sure you switch off all the lights when you're done. After all, we all need to do our part to stop global warming." He said quickly. There was a pause and then slammed the door just fast enough to avoid a flying cushion coming his way.

Orihime kept the arm that she threw with, frozen in midair. Once she was satisfied that Ulquiorra wasn't ever coming out of his room she slunk back to her original position on the sofa and set her eyes upon the fat white books that lay on the table. Silently she said to herself in defeat after thinking of the impossibilities of being able to learn over 1000 people within a week. Her shoulders seemed to droop at the thought of having to read all of the books.

"Alrighty-ho! Let's get started." Orihime clapped her hands and rubbed them together before picking up the book at the top of the pile and flipping it open. The best thing she could do was remain optimistic.

The morning rays of the sun shone through the gaps of every window, stirring everyone that slept peacefully in its path. Under the silk sheet covers and cold pale creature stirred underneath awakening from his drowsy state. Ulquiorra grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head to block out any traces of the golden sun. He loved to sleep in, especially after a good night's sleep. In his house he was permitted to do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him, which was the best…

After lounging in bed for another hour or so he decided to get up and eat. He removed the pillow off his head slowly so his eyes could adjust to the light and flinging the bed covers off he hopped out of bed and clumsily walked into his bedroom door. He figured he was still a little tired.

"Ouch…" he mumbled against the door, slowly he peeled himself of and twisted the door knob to open it. The hallway was empty as usual and the white walls bared nothing on them. Ulquiorra stepped out into the emptiness; the floorboards creaked ever so slightly when his foot added more pressure onto it. Ulquiorra looked down at his pale bony feet and then looked back up.

Slowly he made his way past the living room and into the kitchen. His senses today were telling him to have a glass of milk and egg soldiers; obediently he opened the fridge and pulled out the semi skimmed milk then leaving it on the counter as he went to get a glass cup. He gently kicked the fridge door shut and put the glass cup besides the milk bottle. Just then his eyes caught sight of a lump on the sofa; out of curiosity he went to investigate it. The lump moved slightly when his toes bumped the sofa and then a strand of auburn came out from the bundle. He lifted the blanket off completely and found Orihime was sleeping peacefully, her chest heaved in and out smoothly. Her body was curled up into a ball as if she was cold and her face was frowning slightly as if displeased.

"Miss Inoue? What are you doing here?" he asked. No answer from the woman below him. Ulquiorra placed the blanket back over her body and his eyes skimmed across the mess she left on the glass table next to him. One thing Ulquiorra absolutely hated was messiness and germs so began piling the mess up into neat columns, as he cleaned up he noticed that they were notes. He looked back at Orihime's sleeping form and spotted a pen and notepad beside her head. Sudden realization hit him; she'd been up all night revising the people from the book and she had made notes down. Ulquiorra looked down and spotted a cup; he picked it up and sniffed the contents… coffee. She must have been tired and grabbed a blanket and made some coffee to keep her awake whilst revising. _Was she that desperate to learn?_

Ulquiorra pushed a strand of auburn hair aside to take a closer look at her face, his hand made contact with her frozen pale skin; he retracted his hand away almost instantly. Though her eyes were closed Ulquiorra could see the black bags underneath them and a pang of guilt hit him. He impaled this onto her; he had worked her until she couldn't stay up any longer, he did this to her. The guilt was getting the better of him so he went and grabbed his blanket from his room and a pillow, as quietly as he could he slipped back into the living room and draped the blanket around Orihime's curled up form. She quivered slightly and then stopped. Ulquiorra slipped his hand underneath her head and lifted it up gently; he could see the crease marks from the sofa had imprinted themselves onto her cheek which was a dark shade of pink. Grabbing the pillow he slipped it underneath her head and carefully placed her onto it and then he crept back into the kitchen when he heard she murmured a name, "Sora…"

For a moment Ulquiorra thought she was awake but when he turned back, he saw she was still in the same position. _Who was Sora?_ Ulquiorra stood in the same spot trying to think back to when she mentioned the name before.

"Sora…" She called out again.

"Orihime?"

Orihime smiled upon hearing her name even though she was deep in sleep, "Sora… I love you…"

Ulquiorra stared at her for a moment and then watched as a tear welled up on her closed eye lids and slide down her cheek before tumbling onto the sofa.

_Who was Sora? A lover? _Ulquiorra began questioning himself about Orihime. Come to think of it, she'd never really talked about herself so he didn't know much. All he knew was that she was as tough as a brick but when it came to people in her past she crumbled easily like sand.

"Miss Inoue? Are you alright?" Ulquiorra asked. Perhaps she was awake. There was no answer again. Ulquiorra watched as another tear fell from her cheek. _Why is she crying?_ True she was crying but she was also smiling. _Tears of happiness? _He watched as her face slowly turned from childlike happiness to a face of fear and then she screamed out the name again, "Sora!"

"Miss Inoue?" Ulquiorra panicked. He watched as Orihime gave a loud gurgle of what sounded like pain. "Miss Inoue!" he rushed by her side and tried to grab a hold of her hands which were flapping around like she was defending herself. Her breathing increased and her body shook uncontrollably as she shook her head from side to side, Ulquiorra couldn't understand what was going on. He roughly began shaking her, "Orihime! Wake up! It's just a dream! Snap out of it!" Ulquiorra grabbed her arms to stop them from hitting him and then all of a sudden her eyes fluttered open. For a moment she stared into his eyes that loomed above her and he stared back with a worried expression, her breathing slowed down and she lay completely still. Ulquiorra released her arms, she sat up and covered her eyes, and with one hand she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Miss Inoue? Are you alright?"

"Bad dream." She breathed out.

"Do these… Nightmares happen often?"

Orihime shook her head and then flumped back down on the sofa and pulled the duvet over her head, "I'm tired."

"I worked that out. Next time just go to sleep when you feel tired, don't go and drink coffee."

Orihime groaned under the blanket.

"Also, clean up after yourself. I absolutely hate dirty and messy things." Ulquiorra added as he strolled back into the kitchen. Orihime groaned again in return and shifted into a more comfortable position to sleep in. Just when she found the perfect position her sleep was disturbed when the sound of clattering pans were made. No doubt it was Ulquiorra doing it on purpose just to piss her off.

"Ulquiorra." She muffled out from underneath the blanket.

"Yes?"

"Two words." She held up two fingers for him to see.

He filled the pan with water, put it on the stove and switched the fire on before turning around, "What may they be?"

"_Shut up_."

Ulquiorra began with the smart talk, "But you were the one who initiated the conversation first."

"What did I say!" Orihime shouted from underneath the blankets.

"Shut up…" he replied inaudibly.

Orihime still heard his answer and wasted no time in scolding at him, "Exactly! What part of 'shut up' do you not understand?"

"I understand 'shut up' perfectly."

"Then just follow! Why is it always so difficult for you to follow orders?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it was from the way I was brought up-" his house phone started ringing and he skidded along the floor to pick it up from the mantle. He held it to his ear, "Hello, Schiffer residence, how can I help?"

A familiar voice came on,_"Ulquiorra. It's me!" _

His eyes widened. "M-mum!" he stuttered out. Orihime grabbed the pillow she was lying on and brought it up to cover her head completely and block out the noise that was coming out of Ulquiorra's mouth… talking.

"_Hey, I'm just calling to let you know I'm on my way to your house. I'm at the airport." _She chimed.

"Pardon?"

"_I'm coming over soon. Bye honey! See you in a few hours!" _Then she hung up. Ulquiorra could almost choke on his own spit. He looked at the bundle on the sofa, "Miss Inoue."

She grunted moodily.

"You'd better eat and get changed."

Orihime flung the blanket and her pillow off her head and sat up sticking her lower lip out to blow hair out of her eyes, "If this is something to do with your stupid paparazzi stuff you can forget it."

Ulquiorra gulped, "Actually. It's much worse than that."

Orihime took a couple of guesses, "Money issues?"

"No."

She crossed her arms, "Family death?"

"No. What would you say to meeting someone in about an hour or so?"

"I'd say that you can shove it up your butt hole." She replied grumpily. Ulquiorra was getting gon her nerves. Couldn't he just cut straight to the chase?

"Miss Inoue, a serious answer."

She sighed, "It all depends on the person we're meeting."

"What if I were to say that your life depended on this persons actions?"

Orihime smirked thinking he was kidding around with her, "What/ I'm going to get assassinated now?"

"Not exactly."

Orihime got off the sofa and walked to where Ulquiorra was. She patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, "Funny. _Very_ funny Ulquiorra. I bet this is to just get me back for something I did."

"Miss Inoue. I'm serious."

Orihime began walking down the hallway to the bathroom with her arms folded behind her head, "Very funny emo. You could pass for an acting audition. Who knows? You could end up as a famous actor in the future."

Ulquiorra opened his mouth to say something; she cut him off, "No need to thank me for the advice."

"Miss Inoue. Listen to me."

Orihime groaned but turned around to face Ulquiorra, "I'm listening."

"What if I was to say…" He began.

"Go on…" Orihime urged him on.

"That this person…"

Orihime sighed and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "Ulquiorra! I don't have all day! Just spit it out already!"

He looked her straight in the eye and clearly said, "That this person… was my mum."

* * *

A/N: I was just reading this again and boy did this suck slightly! But hey, nothing I can do with the way I write. Check out my profile to see future stories coming out (Only if you're desperate, I think I said that last chapter but it doesn't matter)!


	9. Getting to know the Schiffer's

**A/N: Hey. Pretty much rushed thhis chapter because I have revision! DX The feared examinations approach...Oh the irony! Anyway you'll find a slight twist in this chap but I'm sure you'll understand. Voila! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 9 – Getting to know the Schiffer's**

Orihime chewed on her lower lip nervously and pinched her arms to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The woman of nightmares was coming over any minute now and her life depended on this woman's actions. If she didn't play the cards right boy would her life end quickly!

For the whole morning Ulquiorra and Orihime had scrubbed the whole house until they saw their own reflection on the objects they cleaned, Orihime could of sworn her hand were bleeding by the end of the torturous hours, without breakfast as well. Then Ulquiorra called over the makeup and hair artists to fix up Orihime so she'd look 'appropriate' in front of his mum and she had to admit they did a good job but why did they always have to use makeup? Why couldn't they just leave her face alone?

"How are you feeling?" Ulquiorra asked as he came out from his bedroom. For an hour he had been deciding what to wear and in the end he only chose a plain white shirt and black trousers.

"My face feels _heavy_."

Ulquiorra buttoned up his shirt leaving the top slightly open, "Why is that?"

"The makeup. I hate makeup. Whenever I wear it, it feels so fucking _heavy_."

"What did I say about swearing?" Ulquiorra poked her forehead with his index finger and gave it a small push, "I told you not to swear unless it was appropriate."

Orihime snorted, "As if I'd listen to you."

"Oh you will. Mum doesn't like people who swear." Ulquiorra went to the kitchen to grab his tenth glass of water. "I just hope that she likes you or I'll be dead meat."

Orihime sat down on the dining table chairs, "That's _all_ we can hope."

Ulquiorra gulped down all of his water and helped himself to more, "My mum is a lot more dangerous than you think. She can make or break you and you'll have no say in it no matter what."

Orihime straightened out a crease on her dress and folded her arms, "Don't you think I know that already?"

Ulquiorra finished yet another cup of water and began washing the cup before drying it and carefully placing it back into its rightful place in the cabinet. He collapsed onto the sofa and took a few deep breathing exercises. Orihime smirked, "Why are you getting so worked up for? She's _your_ mum."

Ulquiorra covered his eyes with the back of his hand, "My mum is a very nice person but her personality can change within a matter of seconds. She could ruin my future if she wanted to. That's why I never get in her bad book and believe me you don't want to."

Orihime turned her full attention to him, "Oh really? Why is that?"

"After my father died my mum took charge of the whole music industry that we owned and in order to keep the family stable she toughened me up so I could take over the company when she died. It was lucky grandma offered to take it off her hands otherwise right now I'd be stuck behind a desk doing all sorts of paperwork rather than fulfilling my dream of being a composer." Ulquiorra sat up to look at Orihime's expression. She seemed interested to his surprise.

"There's more to this story isn't there?" although it was a question Ulquiorra could sense she was actually suggesting for him to continue.

"When Grandma dies, automatically the entitlement of the company goes to me, which means I can sell it for billions or I could keep it but use my second in command to run it. "

Orihime stood up to stretch then lean her back against the wall, "I see. What do you plan to with it after 6 months is up?"

Ulquiorra sat up, "I wouldn't know, I'm just hoping my Grandma can fight the cancer for a bit longer. On the other hand I wouldn't want her to be in too much pain."

Orihime pushed herself off the wall, "The more I get to know you, the more I find that your situation is in a very bad dilemma."

"It's not my fault. I didn't want it this way."

"You're life is shit."

"I know that. That's the price you pay if you're rich. Sometimes I wish my life was like yours."

"You wish you had a life like mine?" Orihime spluttered out laughing, "Ulquiorra. My life is way shittier compared to yours, be glad for what you have. At least you get to prance around in your house and sit on the couch eating chocolate whilst gawking at the TV screen, instead of walking halfway round the world in look for a crap job."

Ulquiorra analysed her for a while and then replied, "Yes. You're right, I don't wish my life was like yours. Your life is trash."

Before Orihime could knock him back down onto the sofa and strangle the living hell out of him the door bell rang. Both of them snapped their heads in the direction it came from.

"Who do you think that is at this time?" Orihime asked.

Ulquiorra shrugged, "Only one way to find out. Go and get the door."

Orihime gaped at him. "Why me? This is your damn house!"

"House wife." He stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I am not a house wife yet!"

"You will be soon. Practice makes perfect." he shooed her off. Orihime stormed of stamping her foot down like she was killing bugs on her way to the entrance. She also muttered several curses at Ulquiorra who never heard them. The bell rang again_. Who is this impatient person? _She thought as she stopped in front of the door. The bell rang again, in her anger Orihime pulled open the door violently. There her eyes met the second pair of greenest eyes in the world. Orihime found herself unable to stop looking into the green pools until a voice broke her trance.

"Hello. Do I know you?"

Orihime shook her head awake, "Yes…" Orihime paused to look at the lady's face, she almost fell down when she saw Ulquiorra's mum. She was dressed in a long silver dress that neatly pooled itself around her legs. On her shoulder she wore a small white fur coat, Orihime hoped it was fake. The raven haired woman frowned at Orihime's answer and she looked her up and down. Orihime gulped and corrected herself, "I mean no!"

"You look very familiar." Her voice was like silk.

Orihime didn't know what to do. This was the woman who was going to kill her. If only she could leg it out of the house, "You probably have. I'm Ulquiorra's fiancé."

Ulquiorra's duplicate smiled, "I see. You're much prettier in person than in the newspapers."

Orihime didn't know what to say for the comment the only thing that came to mind was a word of thanks, "Thank you."

The woman smiled, "I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. You must be confused, I'm -"

"Mrs Schiffer. Ulquiorra's told me a lot about you. I'm Orihime Inoue." Orihime interrupted. The woman smiled and nodded. Orihime extended her hand out, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mrs Schiffer gladly took Orihime's hand. At the contact of the pale skin, Orihime almost froze. It felt so cold and bony, at the same time it was soft like velvet and smooth like marble. Orihime released the woman's hand after a small shake. Orihime stepped aside for the woman to step in, she gestured for her to go down the halls, "Come in. Ulquiorra's been excited to see you."

Mrs Schiffer didn't step in, "I'm sorry Orihime but could you help me with something?" she stepped back and gestured to her black car. Orihime nodded not knowing what she was doing and then when she looked into the car she saw an ancient woman sitting in the back seat.

Ulquiorra's mum spoke softly, "Ulquiorra's grandma wanted to surprise him and you so she came along."

Orihime gave a small cry but managed to turn it in to words, "How… exciting." God was being unfair today. Both the mum and grandma came together and both of them were vicious people. Now she had to step up her game a lot more than she had intended.

"Miss Inoue. What on earth is taking so long?" Ulquiorra appeared next to Orihime and looked at her with a confused expression when he saw her nervous face.

"Hello Ulquiorra." Mrs Schiffer mused. Ulquiorra snapped his head to the person standing at the bottom of his porch. His heart skipped a beat, "M-mum!"

His mum laughed, "Surprise sweetie!" she spread her arms out for a hug. His face of shock turned into a smile, gently he pulled her in for a hug, "I missed you."

"You too." She whispered over his shoulder. "I have another surprise for you."

Ulquiorra pulled away, "Don't tell me you brought me another orchestra to train!"

Mrs Schiffer laughed again, "Don't be silly! Orihime and I were just going to help her get out."

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow and looked at Orihime who smiled nervously and nodded. He looked into the car and saw his grandma sitting in the back, "G-granny?" almost instantly he opened the door. The old woman stepped out slowly and brought her walking stick down to the ground for extra balance; Orihime could see she was wearing a green cardigan and black trousers. Just like a normal old person. Ulquiorra looked down at his grandma and laughed, "Granny! You're here!" He bent down for a hug.

The old woman smiled and wrapped one arm around her grandson, "Of course I'm here. Why would I turn down a chance to see my only grandson?"

Orihime smiled at the scene. It was sweet how Ulquiorra was very fond of his family. She watched as the old lady playfully jabbed Ulquiorra with her walking stick.

"It's a very lovely scene isn't it?"

Orihime looked at Mrs Schiffer who smiled. "Is he always like this when he see's you?"

"Oh yes. Very much so. We're all he has in the world."

Orihime folded her arms, "He's different when he's around you. He seems more childish."

Mrs Schiffer laughed, "He likes to be spoiled rotten by his grandma. He brings so much hope in the family. Speaking of which, can we go inside to discuss a few things."

Orihime stepped aside almost instantly, "Of course Mrs Schiffer."

"Oh please. Don't call me that. Call me by my first name, Tina."

Orihime nodded. So far the woman hadn't shown any signs of violence or hatred, in fact Ulquiorra may have tricked her. The person he was explaining was completely different personalities from his mum.

"Ulquiorra! Let's get inside."

Ulquiorra stopped talking to his grandma and returned his attention to his mum, "Why would that be?"

His grandma poked him, "Plans for your wedding silly! That reminds me, that lady there must be you're fiancé." She pointed at Orihime like it was the most obvious person.

"Granny. It's not nice to point at people." He placed his hand over her old fragile one and lowered it. The old woman smiled, "You must really care for her and usually you make fun of things with me."

Orihime's jaw dropped. _He_ made fun of people. No, that wasn't possible. The psycho was emotionless, how could _he_ know how to have fun? Let alone with an old woman who made fun. This family was one _messed up_ family.

"I think Orihime's confused enough, mother." Ulquiorra's mum pointed out to the old lady. A smile was back on her features when she looked back at Orihime, "Shall we?"

Orihime nodded and soon found herself following her future mother-in-law into the lounge rather than her leading the way. Ulquiorra and his grandma tagged behind whilst whispering to each other and laughing. Orihime noticed how Ulquiorra looked so…happy just being around his grandma. She figured the Schiffer family had very strong ties to each other even though they lived so far away. In some ways she envied what Ulquiorra had and in other ways she was happy for him because he was often very lonely in his house. There also weren't that many piano prodigies living around district 1's area let alone in the world. Slowly she plopped a seat next to Ulquiorra on the sofa, his mother across the opposite side and his grandma on the left, slouching comfortably against the single sofa chair.

"First we'll start with the introductions."Tina said calmly.

Ulquiorra's grandma snorted, "Bah! We don't need to be so formal. Besides I'm sure carrot top here prefers it non-formal."

"Mother!" Tina cried.

Ulquiorra burst out into small chuckles, "That's a good one granny. Carrot top."

Orihime resisted the urge to punch Ulquiorra in the guts but he was making things extremely difficult, especially his grandma being around.

The old lady sat up, "Anyway, we'll be related soon so I might as well introduce myself. I'm Hana Yamamoto. But you can call me granny."

Orihime didn't really know what to say and began introducing herself, "Erm… I'm Orihime Inoue."

Hana laughed out loud, "Not very confident are you?"

Orihime kept her head low to avoid eye contact. Tina smiled apologetically.

"Ulquiorra are you sure you're not marrying this woman because of her body? She didn't hit on you did she? Did she threaten you?" Hana demanded.

Ulquiorra laughed and took a hold of Orihime's hands which were placed on her lap, "Granny, I'm not the type to do that. Orihime and I are very much in love." He tenderly stroked Orihime's hand.

"Oh what's this? Gone soft have you?" Hana teased.

"Of course not." Ulquiorra protested.

Tina interrupted, "Now now Ulquiorra. We must get back to wedding plans; it's only in two weeks time." She turned back to Orihime, "Do you have any themes in mind?"

"Orange." Hana mumbled before sniggering. Tina shot her a look that suggested she was being rude. Orihime laughed nervously, "Not really…"

"Nothing at all?"

"Nope."

Tina frowned, "Have you not had any ideas what you're dream wedding would be like?"

Orihime sighed, "I never really thought I'd be getting married this early though so I haven't fully prepared myself for this."

"But surely you must have some ideas."

"I apologize. I can't think of anything." Orihime bowed apologetically whilst sitting down. Ulquiorra looked at the auburn haired girl in amazement. She had no dreams of her wedding? Even though he knew this wedding was a fake, a sham, shouldn't she have something in mind? She truly was something different.

"That's good. We can just select a theme to surprise carrot top."

"Mum, I'm not sure Orihime will like that. After all it's her wedding."

Orihime waved her hand, "It's okay. I really wouldn't mind what you chose so long as it's normal." She watched as the ghost like woman with-drawed a silver coloured notepad and began noting things down on the first clean page and Orihime looked at Ulquiorra's grandma who sat with her eyes closed as if she were asleep.

She noticed how all the Schiffer's were paled skinned, like they were some sort of legendary vampires. In a way they resembled 'The Cullen's' from the movie twilight. They were pale skinned and very attractive far from normal, they were a very close family and who knows what else they'd be good at apart from making music.

Ulquiorra got up from the couch, "I think I'm going to make some jasmine tea." He left to the kitchen leaving Orihime alone in view of her in-laws.

"Mother. Why not go outside to the garden and take a stroll with Orihime? You'll get to know her better."

Hana nodded in agreement, "I think that will be a good idea." The old lady struggled to get of the armchair. Orihime looked at Ulquiorra who mouthed for her to help his grandma, obediently she did so. The old lady was surprisingly strong considering she was old and had cancer. Her grip on Orihime's arms was like a falcon, Orihime swore she felt her bones snap. Once she was properly off the chair Orihime began wondering how to get to the garden. Fortunately the old woman was so willing to go outside she lead the way for Orihime.

Not knowing what to expect Orihime guessed that the garden was small with several rows of neat flowerbeds and very green grass, She almost died of shock when she saw that Ulquiorra owned a forest, tennis court, swimming pool, golf court (included with proper sand dunes), a lake with actual swans living in it and a _whole lotta green land_. It wasn't a garden! It was a fucking _hotel resort_. No such luck when she saw the board that said: Property of Ulquiorra Shigekuni Yamamoto Schiffer.

Ulquiorra's grandma breathed in the air and stepped out onto the patio that had several pathways leading in different directions.

Orihime resisted the urge to run off and roll around on the green grassy hills in the distance. Ulquiorra's grandma began walking down one path, Orihime followed. For a while none of them spoke until the old woman said something, "Ulquiorra really is something different isn't he?"

"Huh?"

"I'm happy that he's found someone to spend time with." Hana turned to face Orihime and smiled making her face wrinkle up. Orihime felt extremely guilty for lying to the poor old lady, this was all Ulquiorra's fault. What had she done to deserve this cruel punishment from God?

"You're very different from what Ulquiorra described you as." Orihime admitted. She hoped it would make up for some of the lying… and it didn't.

The old woman laughed, "Ulquiorra always does that. It makes people work harder to impress us but in truth we're not actually that bad."

Orihime muttered several curses towards Ulquiorra under her breath before turning to face the old lady, "I see. Does the same apply for his mum?"

"No."

Orihime became confused, "She seems so…"

"Nice? Carrot top don't be fooled by my daughter. She looks like an angel on the outside and her personality can be the same but if you get on the wrong side of her she can turn ferocious."

Orihime chuckled, "Ulquiorra told me the same thing."

"He knows his mum best. He's a mummy's boy." Hana nudged Orihime in the ribs in a friendly way as if she knew Orihime for years. Orihime laughed out loud. Who would've thought the emo was a _mummy's boy_?

"Surprising isn't it?"

Orihime nodded with a fat smile on her face. Hana smiled back, "So carrot top, tell me more about yourself and how you met Ulquiorra."

Orihime crossed her arms over her chest, "Well firstly, I'm not called carrot top. I was an orphan with no money and family to look after me. I was looking for a job one day and I met Ulquiorra."

Hana grinned slightly and jabbed Orihime with her walking stick, "Go on. Tell me what you thought of him."

Being 100% truthful Orihime answered, "Well he was a psychotic emotionless bastard who was very arrogant towards me. He likes to bully people and he acts like a girl. Sometimes I want to fucking kill him but after getting to know him a bit more he's actually a very emotional person with feelings that don't show much." Orihime covered her mouth at the realization that she swore and bitched about the woman's grandson. She was on the verge to apologizing. May God spare her short eventful life.

To her surprise the old lady only looked up at her with a smile, "Sounds very much like Ulquiorra. He hasn't changed one bit." The old woman stopped walking, Orihime stopped along with her wondering why she did.

"You're different carrot top."

"What do you mean?" Orihime questioned.

"You weren't crazy over Ulquiorra when you first met him and you seem like that now. You swear in my presence, even after being warned by Ulquiorra and you didn't exactly have dreams of your wedding."

"Is that a bad thing?" Orihime squeaked. She noticed how Hana's tone changed to seriousness and she assumed that she'd been caught for being Ulquiorra's fake fiancé.

"No. It's refreshing." The old woman sighed. "Ulquiorra made a good choice picking you for once."

The wind began howling slightly, it blew Orihime's hair over her shoulder and the strawberry scent wafted into the distance. Orihime smelt cinnamon and guessed it was Hana. The ducks started heading back onto the mini island in the centre of the lake to shelter themselves and the sand in the sand dunes began swirling around like small lost tornadoes. One minute it was sunny and then it was windy_. America really has some funny weathering. _

"I think it's time we get inside. Ulquiorra's calling us."

Orihime listened carefully and found that someone indeed was calling their names. The old woman had incredible hearing even for her age. It was like she was super nanny.

"He's probably worried I'm going to collapse."

Ulquiorra appeared by the doors and caught sight of Orihime standing on the pathway next to grandma. Suspiciously he strolled next to the two, "Granny, you're jasmine tea's ready." He urged her to go back inside and she obeyed but stopped in her track when she found neither Ulquiorra nor Orihime were following. "Aren't you coming in?"

"You go on ahead."

"We'll come right inside after we just talk." Orihime added. Ulquiorra nudged her in the arm for her to shut up; she shot a glare at him and mouthed 'what'.

Hana laughed and shook her head, "So immature…"

_You're the one to talk._ Orihime thought. When she disappeared behind the door Ulquiorra instantly seized Orihime by the shoulder, "What did you two talk about?"

Orihime raised her hands over her face protectively, "Calm down! We only talked about you and your mum and, and things!"

She watched as his face turned from absolute nervousness to relief, his head dropped onto her shoulder, his grip still remaining. "Thank God." He mumbled.

Orihime shoved him off and began wiping her shoulder like it had the rabies, "Why?"

"It doesn't matter." He sighed placing his hands into his pockets again. His eyes wondered over the landscape that he owned.

"Why does she keep calling me carrot top?"

Ulquiorra smiled slightly, "That's how she shows her liking towards you. If she doesn't like someone she'll use their surnames and if she is fond or likes someone she'll give you a nickname. Believe it or not I have several. Mum doesn't like it when granny calls me that but we don't really pay attention to her."

Orihime saw an opportunity to bully Ulquiorra for a bit. She wanted to embarrass him slightly and she had the perfect threat thanks to his grandma giving out valuable information. "Ulquiorra…" she grinned mischievously.

Ulquiorra turned around, "Wh-" and then he caught sight of Orihime looming in front of his face with the devils smile "-at?" he finished ending from a monotone voice to a slightly hysterical one.

"You never told me you were a mummy's boy." Her eyes twinkled evilly.

Ulquiorra backed away a little, a faint tinge of pink appearing on his bony pale cheeks, "Who told you that?"

"Who else have I been with during this time?"

"Grandma." He sighed. "When I get my hands on her I'm going to steal her walking stick."

"Why would you do that?" Orihime asked forgetting her task to bully the emo.

"We always play practical jokes on each other. One time I told her to play the exorcist maze game, full volume and at the end when the girl screamed my grandma froze for a moment. I thought she had a heart attack but then she started laughing like mad and told me not to do it again. After that day we've always pranked each other to get the other one back."

"You're grandma is awesome!" Orihime exclaimed.

"I know, but she gets serious when it come to people she doesn't like or when she works."

"You said that for your mum and she turned out fine. You're such a liar." Orihime stuck out her chin.

Ulquiorra patted her head like she was a puppy, "That's just how she starts out. Later on she'll get a lot rougher."

"I doubt that."

He chuckled and ruffled her hair roughly leaving it in a tangled mess piled above her scalp.

Orihime stepped away from him, "You messed up my hair!" she bgan straightening it and then she lunged for him so she could do the same but he dodged. She tried again but failed. Then he sprinted for the door, Orihime ran after him, "Get your butt back here you twit!"

"I'm afraid that if I do that you'll end my life before I can even have children."

Orihime gritted her and increased her pace. Boy did Ulquiorra run fast! Then she noticed that Ulquiorra was laughing. He was enjoying himself and that was rare. In almost all the posters of him his face was always slightly lonely looking and sad. Although no one really payed attention to how he looked and more attention on doodling in their books 'I luv Ulquiorra Schiffer' or 'Ulquiorra Schiffer is sooooo buff', Orihime always noticed, no matter how small the picture was. She always felt sorry for him. It then dawned on Orihime; there was still so much to learn even though she thought she had Ulquiorra figured out_. I'm really just getting to know the Schiffer's. _

* * *

A/N: Just letting you guys know that Chapter 10 will be very late. As I said before... exams! For those whho want to know why I haven't uploaded for **all I want is this **it's because I plan to get ahead on this story and the slowly make my way through the other. I apologize to those who are desperate to find out what happens next.


	10. An Eventful Day

**A/N: Soooo tired. I got bored with revising and ended up writing Chapter 10. Oh well, this chapter if pretty random anyway so I apologize if half the bull-crap doesn't make any sense. This is the longest Chapter I have written so far. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 10 – An Eventful Day**

"Ouch! No, no! That's too tight!" Orihime winced.

"Are you sure? It seemed like a good fit."

"No, no, Tina it's definitely too tight! I can't breathe." Orihime began tugging the white dress off her body. Why did she decide to do this? Why? After discussing some more details about the wedding, Ulquiorra's mum suggested that they go and try on wedding dresses for the rest of the day. At first it seemed like a good idea but after trying on hundreds of dresses like frilly ones, skinny ones, fat ones, lace ones, sleeveless ones she still couldn't find the right one. Ulquiorra decided he didn't want to tag along since he predicted this would happen so instead he went to another shop to try on the groom's clothing. Hana on the other hand _had_ tagged along with Orihime and her daughter but she only came because there was shops nearby that were giving out freebies, mainly food.

"Oh dear. We've been here for hours and we still haven't found the right dress."

"It's alright, honestly. I won't mind if I don't have a wedding at all."

Tina frowned, she didn't gape because she didn't like to, "Absolutely not! Every Schiffer is to have a wedding no matter what."

Orihime could almost kick herself to agreeing with this. She never wanted any of this in the first place; all she wanted was her old life back. "I understand." She lied. Moodily she sauntered back into the changing rooms and prepared herself to slip on another dress. She tried lying to Tina by just picking a random dress and saying it was perfect but Tina didn't believe it for a second and forced Orihime to keep trying on dresses until she _actually_ did find the right one. Ulquiorra's mum was ultra smart, it was like she could read people's mind. Ulquiorra wasn't any better; he was _exactly_ like his mum in every inhumane way.

"Orihime! Try this one on!"

A pale bony hand flew straight into the curtains, Orihime gave a startled jump and then looked at the piece of clothing it was holding. She took it from the hand and spread it out to examine it. A smile stretched across her lips and her eyes glinted slightly gold.

"How is it?"

Orihime picked it up and unzipped the back. Carefully she slipped into the dress and pulled it up before zipping it back into place. The mirror reflected back her image in front of her eyes to see. Orihime smiled happily, "It's perfect."

**…**

"Oh look who's here. Why the hell are _you_ here?"

"Save you're sneering for after Jeagerjaques." Ulquiorra snapped as he shut the door. The bar was surprisingly quiet and he guessed that the maids had already gone back to their apartments. Grimmjow was sitting on his favourite couch with a cup of Bailey's in his hand. Upon seeing Ulquiorra his face stretched out into an evil grin. Ulquiorra stated monotonely, "My mum is here."

Grimmjow stood up from his favourite red couch immediately almost dropping his whiskey. Where he sat it left a dent that was slowly rising up to its original plumpness, "When did she get here? How? One minute she's in Japan filming her music video and next ya tell me she's here!"

Ulquiorra shrugged his shoulder as if uninterested and went to lean against the wall, "I wouldn't know either. She just appeared in front of my house today and that was it. She came along with my grandma."

"I thought ya grandma was hospitalized. Wow. That woman was that desperate to see ya."

Ulquiorra folded his arms, "Correct. But partially because they wanted to see Miss Inoue. They just went shopping for a wedding dress a couple of minutes ago."

Grimmjow's jaw dropped upon realizing Orihime was in potential danger. He roughly grabbed Ulquiorra's collar and shook him violently whilst yelling in his face, "How could ya leave them with her? If she makes one wrong move won't she be beaten to pulp?"

Ulquiorra brushed Grimmjow off and poked his ear as if cleaning it, "Don't you think she knows that already? Besides, they've already taken quite a liking to her."

Grimmjow exhaled in relief and sat back down onto the couch and took a sip from his nearly empty cup, roughly he placed it back down on his glass table, "Who would've thought she would be a hit with them. I really wasn't expecting that."

"Nor was I. But I don't think it'll be long before she slips up." Ulquiorra glanced at the clock on the wall. He frowned and pushed himself of from the place he was leaning on, "I need to leave. I was meant to be shopping for groom's clothing."

"Then why the hell did ya come?"

Ulquiorra opened the door but stopped just as he was about to leave. Slowly he turned his head around to see the azure man standing. "I only came to warn you that my mum will be heading this way."

"How d'ya know that?"

"Instincts." Ulquiorra shut the door and headed back to his car that was parked right in front of Pantera. Just as he was about to get him someone called out his name. He turned around to see the face of Nelliel Tu Oderschvank. He turned his full attention to the baby faced girl, "Miss Odelschwanck. It's been quite a while."

Nel gave an embarrassed laugh, "Yep!"

"What business do you require with me today?"

Nel scratched the back of her head, "Actually I heard that you and Orihime are getting married now. I just wanted to ask if she was alright because she hasn't been coming into work lately."

"Oh. Miss Oderschvank. Didn't Jeagerjaques tell you?"

Nel's face seemed to stretch long ways as she thought, "I don't think he's told me anything."

"Well, Miss Inoue will no longer be coming to this place for work anymore."

"Eh?" Nel screeched.

Ulquiorra attempted to hush the panicking girl, "Calm down Miss Oderschvank. Let me explain."

"Why? Did she get fired? Is she ill?"

Ulquiorra raised his hands, "Well actually-"

Nel ignored him, "It was Grimmjow wasn't it? He fired her or scared her didn't he?" She looked up at the blue sky and placed her hand over her heart, "The poor soul must be frightened to death."

Ulquiorra could almost laugh at Nel's assumption. Firstly, the auburn headed girl was a demon in disguise, if he had to describe the difference between Miss Inoue and Satan he'd say…Nothing at all. There was no difference and he was sure that one day her and Satan will be skipping along the road of hell singing some outrageous song. Secondly, Miss Inoue seemed like she wasn't afraid of anything, she was more or less a human that was designed without fear and thirdly Nel didn't know the truth of it all. If she did, God knows what he'd have to go through.

"Actually Miss Oderschvank. Miss Inoue doesn't need to work here anymore and she needs to take a break for our wedding."

Nel's hand slid off her chest, "I see." Her face suddenly lost a bit of its shine. Ulquiorra sensed she was a little sad at the sudden news. He wasn't the best at cheering people up; in fact he didn't think he'd ever cheered anyone up in his lifetime. Being a prodigy at a young age had its downsides. When he was little he wasn't allowed out of his house to play with the other kids, it was luck that Grimmjow was greatly admired by his mum or he would've been very lonely. In an attempt to cheer Nel up he offered an invitation, "You can come to the wedding though. Miss Inoue would be very happy if you were to attend."

Nel's face instantly lit up, "Really?"

"Sure. I'll send you the invites when they're done. In fact you can pop by to help Miss Inoue with the makeup or something like that."

The baby faced girl gave out a laugh of delight and almost crushed Ulquiorra as she jumped onto him for a hug, "Thank you Ulquiorra!"

Without seeming rude he tried to pry Nel of him without her realising. Surely he was going to suffocate if she didn't release him. Not only was she rather tall she also had fairly large…chests. Ulquiorra didn't like the feeling of being half suffocated to death by these 'chests' and he preferred to die in another less obscene way. Nel finally released him; he let out a gasp of needed air and clutched his chest. Nel quickly apologized, bowed and then ran off with a slightly hyper look on her face. His trouser pocket began vibrating, someone was calling him. Digging his hand in he pulled out his mobile and flipped it open, "Hello?"

"_Ulquiorra. Where the fuck are you?" _Orihime rasped.

He sighed slightly, "I'm at Pantera."

"_Oh I see how it is! Just ditch me and go and get all chummy with your bestie whilst I'm stuck here trying on shit."_

"Miss Inoue. I only came to warn Jeagerjaques about my mother."

Orihime groaned, _"Fine. Just get your ass back here. Your mum is going one step too far."_

"What is she doing now?"

"_She's shopping for __**maternity **__clothing!"_

Ulquiorra wasn't sure that he heard her correctly. Sure, his mum was a person who like to be organized but to be _that _organized was… a step _far too far_. "What?"

"_Exactly. You better get over here before she over does it!" _Orihime snapped. He heard his mum calling Orihime to try something on. Orihime called out that she'd be there in a second and then she turned back to the phone, _"Quickly. Next she'll be moving onto baby clothing!"_

"I'm coming. Just hold her off for a couple of minutes."

"_Ulquiorra, I have to go. You're mum is getting impatient." _The phone line went dead. Ulquiorra flipped his phone lid down, shoved it into his pocket, unlocked his car so that he could jump in and drive like mad. He wondered why on earth his mum would shop for maternity clothing. Was Miss Inoue really that fat? Hmmmm. Perhaps she was... with another person's child! Dear God. He'd married a woman who was _pregnant_! He remembered on their first encounter that he had seen her eat a little too much for a normal average human woman. She also didn't look like the type to be as innocent as she made out to be. Ulquiorra could almost slap himself for not asking earlier, it would have made things a lot less complicated.

When he finally arrived at the mall he frantically began searching for Orihime. It was easy because there was a large crowd of people encircling something that could possibly his mum, grandma and Orihime. How was he going to get through without being noticed? Someone yelled out his name and then the mall went dead silent, everyone shifted their heads to his direction and then screams of delight echoed through the hallway. A huge wave of destructive fan girls immediately began encircling him making it extremely difficult for him to see past the crowd into the other crowd. He ignored the pleas from random people to sign an autograph and focused on trying to get to Orihime in the other crowd. He didn't know that his family were plotting the exact same thing and soon enough they managed to link the two crowds so that it formed an even larger circle of people. Orihime grabbed onto Ulquiorra's forearms and hissed out quietly, "This is what happens when you come to rescue me late!"

"It's not my fault. You should keep yourself hidden." He hissed back.

"Ah! Ulquiorra, what good timing! Can you think of a plan to get out of here?" His mum smiled as she waved to the people that were taking pictures of her and her family.

Hana chuckled, "I say we fight our way through!"

"Mother!"

"What? It makes natural sense to do that." Hana shrugged. "But if that's how Ulquiorra feels then I won't do it." She looked up at Ulquiorra hopefully.

He frowned, "No."

Hana jabbed him on his foot with her walking stick causing him to wince. She chuckled, "Serves you right spoilt sport." Then she turned to Orihime who looked at her with a pleading look, "Orihime do you have any suggestions?"

"We could… use a decoy and then run for it."

Tina looked at her, "How are we going to do that?"

Orihime looked back up at Ulquiorra, "Do you know anyone with a similar popularity to yours?"

He thought for a moment whilst the crowed were still trying to shove each other out of the way to get to the front lines. Then he looked across to his mum, "What would you say if I called Grimmjow?"

Her face lit up, "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques?"

"Yes."

"I would love it. But why would you want to call him? He isn't famous." She pointed out. Orihime gave Ulquiorra a confused look he only nodded to symbolize that he knew what he was doing. She sighed but had no choice but to trust him.

"You'll see when I call him over. Believe me. He'll deal with these people." He assured. Slowly he dug his hand into his pocket, pulled it out and began flipping through his contacts until he reached the name 'Blue bastard'. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear hoping that the stupid man would pick up. It rang four times and on the fifth someone picked up, _"Hello?"_

"Grimmjow?"

"_What now Ulquiorra?"_

"I need your help. Again." Ulquiorra admitted unwillingly. He looked at all three of his fellow female family members. Their eyes showed a slight glint of evil, it was like the Schiffer genes were running through Orihime's veins. A sweat bead appeared on the side of his forehead out of nervousness as he awaited for the blunettes reply.

The blue headed giant sighed, _"What now?"_

"Could you come over to the shopping mall?"

"_Which one? There's millions." _There was a slight tone of disinterest in his voice.

"It's in district one."

"_I know that you fucking bastard! Where else would your mum want to shop! But which mall in district one? There's thousands!"_ Grimmjow snapped impatiently.

Ulquiorra pulled away from the phone slightly to avoid going deaf from the idiots yelling, "Sakura and Nadeshiko."

"_I'm on my way. But what's the issue?"_

"Fan problem." Ulquiorra stated monotonely. "You'd better come quickly before my Grandma starts using some form of forbidden martial arts on them."

Ulquiorra could hear that the man on the other side of the phone chuckled slightly, _"Just like the old days. I'll be over in a second or two."_

Ulquiorra flipped his phone off and turned to his family, "He'll be here soon. Meanwhile we have to think of an escape route that will buy us some time to escape."

Luckily none of the fans could hear because they were screaming in each other's ears. Their eyes reflected nothing but desire to make Ulquiorra their own. At the same time they looked like they wanted to help Orihime with her daily shopping and become bestie's. Orihime tightened her grip on Ulquiorra as if she were trying to protect him; in return he too clung onto her waist like he was shielding her body from potential harm. He could see that his grandma was holding onto his mother's hand, her ancient faced looked slightly strained as if trying to hold back some thing.

"Are you okay Granny?"

The old woman looked up, "I just want to kick some butts and get home." There was a slight hint in her voice to show she was lying but Ulquiorra didn't bother to press on because he knew it wouldn't do him any good.

"Any ideas?" Tina asked hopefully. Everyone shook their heads apart from Orihime who was still deep in thought.

Tina frowned at Orihime who was muttering to herself, "Orihime?"

The auburn headed girl snapped her head up and pointed to the air vents at the side of the mall, "How about those?"

Hana stepped forward to examine what Orihime was pointing at, "Actually, that's not a bad idea. The air vents are rather big and they're clean."

Ulquiorra patted Orihime on the head, "Good Job, carrot top."

She groaned, "I'm not come kindergarten child nor am I a carrot!"

"Carrot top suits you."

Orihime's eyebrow twitched in frustration, "Just because you're grandma called me by that name doesn't mean you have the right to do so too."

Ulquiorra ignored her and focused on the people around him. Within that second the crowd had already expanded to an unbelievable size. Orihime swore it was almost all the people in the mall. That included security guards and shop keepers. They were all shoving their way to the front lines in hope that either Ulquiorra or his mum would make some sort of move to sign an autograph but to their disappointment no one did. However it didn't affect their hopes at all and someone even tried to have a decent conversation with Ulquiorra.

"Where is Jeagerjaques?"

Orihime looked up, "How should I know? You were the one who called him about 10 minutes ago."

Ulquiorra looked down at his 'fiancé', "Miss Inoue. I wasn't talking to you. More towards myself."

"So… when is he coming?"

Ulquiorra could only shrug but then he spotted the top of azure coloured hair in the distance slowly making its way towards them. He released Orihime's waist to try and get a better look, "Actually Miss Inoue. I think he's over there."

Orihime made her way besides Ulquiorra and spotted a hint of blue strands, "I think you might be right."

"What is it Ulquiorra?" Tina asked curiously. For the past 10 minutes she was only waving and smiling at her fans in hope that they'd be satisfied and that they'd disappear.

Ulquiorra turned around, "I think Grimmjow's here."

Just like the couple in front of her, she too tiptoed to tower over the people surrounding her in order to get good view. She couldn't see anything, "I can't see anyone."

Orihime tapped Ulquiorra on the shoulder for his attention, "Why isn't he doing anything?"

"I wouldn't know. He likes to tease people."

Orihime silently cursed the blunette, "Maybe's he's waiting for a signal."

Ulquiorra thought for a moment. True. The blue headed giant was extremely thick for his age and he was very stubborn and childish. Maybe _he was_ waiting for a signal. Ulquiorra whistled causing his fans to squeal harder than they currently were. By now they were shoving each other in the faces just to touch Ulquiorra. Orihime was very close to punching the girl behind her because she had rudely kicked Orihime in the shin 'by accident'. The same applied for Hana who wasn't having much luck either but she was holding her ground better than Orihime. Tina on the other hand remained calm and cool, like a natural. She was born to be a superstar unlike her mother and Orihime.

A second whistle resonated through the air. It wasn't Ulquiorra who did it. Everyone's voice began dying down when they turned around to see Grimmjow. Almost instantly the girls began drooling over his six packs and Orihime had to admit, he wasn't a bad looker. Tina almost gaped at Grimmjow's revitalised appearance, she stared into his teal glazed eyes. He spotted her and winked. After that all of the girls were stuck on choosing who to follow; _Celebrity or a Buff Boy? Celebrity or a Buff Boy? _

It was just enough to distract the fans long enough to create the perfect chance for the Schiffer's to make a run for it to the air vents, out of the shopping mall and into Ulquiorra's car.

"That was a good run." Tina panted as she positioned herself comfortably in the front driving seat.

"Nothing better than exercise." Ulquiorra said enthusiastically.

"Makes me feel like a child again." Hana coughed.

"Shit. Don't make me do that again." Orihime wheezed out. Everyone turned their heads to Orihime's direction, morally surprised to see her get exhausted so quickly. "What?"

"You are very unfit."

"NO! Just because I am… slightly chubbier than you, doesn't mean I am unfit. Not everyone wants to be anorexic like you, Ulquiorra." She smirked.

Hana cracked up, "Anorexic! That's a good one carrot top." She held out her wrinkled hand for an air high five to which Orihime happily joined.

"Granny! You're on my side! Remember?" Ulquiorra protested. He nudged her in the rips, she nudged him back.

"Not everything goes your way Ulquiorra. Times change and what better way to use that opportunity to form an ally." Orihime chimed. Hana cracked up again and held up her hand for another air high five. Ulquiorra watched in frustration as his grandma got chummy with Orihime.

Tina turned to Ulquiorra who had decided to divert his attention away from the two devils at the back, "I see why you called Grimmjow now."

"Surprising isn't it?"

"No…interesting actually. Who would've thought that, that Grimmjow would be one of those people with human pheromones?"

Orihime snapped her head up giving Hana the opportunity to clout her on the head with her walking stick, Orihime ignored her, "Grimmjow has human pheromones? Is that even possible?"

"Orihime. In this world, things are unexpected. It just turns out Grimmjow was born this way."

She grabbed Ulquiorra's shoulders for his full attention, "If he has pheromones… why didn't it affect me?"

There was a small awkward silence. Tina repositioned herself to face Orihime. "You weren't taken in at all by his appearance?" she asked in surprise. The she added more, "I admit. I certainly was."

Orihime snorted, "No. I thought he was a jerk and a douche. It turns out I was correct."

Ulquiorra interrupted the two. He grabbed Orihime's hand shocking her a little, "And that is why, mum, I chose to marry Orihime."

Orihime pulled her hand away from his and began thoroughly wiping it on her shirt whilst no one was looking. Tina patted her son on her shoulder, "And you made a good choice." She smiled lightly at Ulquiorra who smiled back. Tina turned to Orihime, "Well. That's one part of your wedding organized. They'll send the dress over tomorrow after they've finished perfecting it."

Ulquiorra turned around, "You've got your dress?"

Orihime scowled. It was none of his business. "Yes." She then went back to play fighting with Hana.

"It took a while to find the perfect one, but I'm sure you'll fall for Orihime once again when she walks down that aisle." Tina stroked Ulquiorra's head like he was a puppy; frankly he wasn't really paying much attention. "Now we just need your approval for the theme."

Orihime looked up to Tina, currently her neck was being restrained by Hana's arm, "You have the theme sorted out?"

"Oh yes my dear." Tina looked at her mother disapprovingly; Hana released Orihime's head muttering something as she did so. Orihime sat up straight and attempted to neaten up her hair slightly. Tina went back to smiling, "How does an ice theme sound to you?"

"Great!"

"That was a fairly quick response."

Orihime smiled innocently, "That's just me. A quick decider."

Ulquiorra was almost tempted to point out that she liked to lie. It wasn't like his decision mattered anyway. In the Schiffer marriage tradition it was the bride who got to choose the theme, designs and location including the venue. It was also optional for the mother to join in and Tina absolutely loved to plan weddings. She always wanted to do it with her future daughter and she was thrilled to have met Orihime. A wave of guilt washed over Ulquiorra as he suddenly realised that in 6 months Orihime would be cast away from his life anyway. What he was doing was wrong, and he knew that, but for the sake of his grandma he had to keep the lie going. Perhaps after the divorce Orihime could still keep in contact to keep Tina happy.

Right now, his life seemed perfect. He had his whole family together and even though he possessed no feelings for Orihime, she had made his grandma happy and given her joy. If the old woman was happy…so was he.

**…**

Silver orbs and emerald crystals twitched with anticipation, waiting for the other one to move as they intensely stared at each other. Finally Orihime couldn't take it anymore and she blinked frantically trying to regain the water in her eyes. Hana laughed, "I win again! You owe me a soda."

Orihime rubbed her eyes, "That isn't fair play!"

"I won fair and square carrot top!" Hana chuckled.

For the past 30 minutes Orihime and Hana had been playing ridiculous games whilst making bets with food. They'd played checkers, hide and seek, knock & run and kick the can (Schiffer style). Out of all the duels Hana had won and Orihime was convinced the old lady was cheating somehow so she challenged her to a staring contest. Yet again Hana had came out on top and Orihime once again had to grit her teeth and cope with the bullying Hana inflicted on her.

"I was going easy on you!" Orihime lied in an attempt to stop the constant jeering that was going in circles.

"No backsy's! You promised!"

"Fine, I'll get your damn soda tomorrow." Orihime muttered in defeat as she uncrossed her legs to stretch them out. Hana jumped up and off the sofa to the centre of the carpet to do a little victory dance, Orihime could've kept herself entertained with that dance all night but it was a shame that Tina had walked by the living room.

"Mother!" Tina exclaimed. She almost dropped the books in her arms upon seeing her mum doing a little jig. Orihime pinched her arm to keep from cracking up.

The old woman turned around, "Oops." And then she turned to Orihime and began sniggering silently so her daughter couldn't see, and it failed because Tina glared at her mum behind her back. It was enough to set Orihime off into fits of uncontrollable laughing along with Hana.

"You two are absolutely childish! Act more civilised!" Tina scolded.

Just then Ulquiorra strolled into the kitchen without saying a word about Orihime and his grandma's hysterical condition, "Don't even try mum. Granny isn't going to listen."

His mum sighed, "I guess you're right."

"Decided on what we're eating tonight yet?"

Tina thought for a moment, "Ah! How about ramen?"

Ulquiorra opened the fridge door bending down to reach for the celery stick at the bottom compartment, he turned his head behind to face his mum, "Ramen?"

She smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth, "We haven't had it in a while."

"I… don't know mum."Ulquiorra mumbled unsurely. He grabbed the largest celery stick and shut the fridge door. Savagely he bit the head of the green vegetable off and chewed thoroughly.

"It'll be fun! Let's ask Orihime!"

Orihime looked up from the carpet of the living room, "Ask me what?"

Tina excitedly scuttled to Orihime as if she were ice skating on the wooden smooth floor with her pink fluffy slippers. She sat in front of Orihime with her knees bent, "Shall we have Ramen for dinner tonight?"

Orihime shrugged, "Dunno. Sounds good to me." And then she had a brilliant idea. Her lips curved into a devilish grin as she turned to Hana, "Hey granny…"

Hana stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow of suspicion when she saw Orihime's slightly creepy face, "What is it?"

"How about we have a ramen eating contest?"

Tina could almost gape at Orihime's suggestion. Hopefully her mother wouldn't participate but the chances of that was slim seeing how Hana loved contests.

Hana's face soon mirrored Orihime's perfectly, "Sounds good to me. But that's too easy."

Orihime pursed her lip, "Then what do you suggest?"

"How about we make the ramen…" Hana paused to create a dramatic tension, Tina was now terrified of what her mum was going suggest next, Hana's eyes narrowed down as the nest words formed, "…_extra spicy_?"

Orihime could feel a tidal wave of excitement, "Oooooo yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"So you're up to it?"

"Hell yeah!" Orihime stood up and held out her pinkie finger, "Whoever finishes first gets to decide what the other person has to do."

"The deals on." Hana hooked her wrinkled pinkie finger onto Orihime's as a symbol of not allowed to go back on the duel. Orihime stared deep into Hana's eyes; Hana stared back with a glint of imaginary fire sparking. Tina sighed inwardly but smiled because she was glad that her mum was at least having fun, she rubbed her hands together and stood up, "Well Ulquiorra. Let's get the Ramen prepared."

"Don't forget to make ours _extra_ spicy." Hana growled keeping her fiery gaze glued onto Orihime. Their fingers were still attached as if waiting for the other person to make the first move. Orihime narrowed her eyes. Tina sighed again, "Yes, yes…"

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes and began pulling out the bowls and crockery. He placed a boiling pan of water over a stove and switched the fire on full blast. Tina joined him in the kitchen and took out 4 packets of Ramen from one of the cabinets.

"In the mean time carrot top, let's play noughts and crosses." Hana suggested. She unhooked her pinkie finger and placed her hand over her walking stick.

Orihime withdrew her hand and wedged them into her pockets, "Alright. Bring it on." She grabbed some paper from the glass table and a pen before she slammed it in front of Hana. She pulled out a coin and placed it on her finger, "Heads or tails?"

"Heads" Her voice was strong and confident. Orihime flipped the coin, she watched it spin in the air and then she gulped as it landed onto her palm. The coin glimmered and showed a person's head. "Damn it!" Orihime muttered. Hana chuckled and sat down whilst she picked up the biro. Carefully she drew out a grid and drew a circle in the middle box.

Orihime snatched the pen off her, "Damn you. I wanted the middle box."

"Shame carrot top. Now make your move if you dare."

Orihime grounded her teeth together and scribbled a cross on the right next to the middle box.

"You two are absolutely childish." Tina called out as she began slicing some leeks.

"Leave it mum." Ulquiorra mumbled, he reached for the tofu and plopped a few into the soup.

"Yes! I win again!" Hana yelled out triumphantly.

Orihime slammed her hands down onto the table, almost crushing the pen, "Damn it!"

"You suck at this carrot top."

"I do not!" Orihime replied indignantly.

Hana jabbed Orihime with her stick, "Just admit it. You suck."

"Mother!" Tina cried. She almost sliced her finger off until Ulquiorra grabbed her hand that held the knife she looked at him in surprise, "Ulquiorra?"

"Careful mum. You nearly cut your finger. This why I said ignore them."

Tina frowned, "Granny just said Orihime sucked. I'm sure Orihime finds that offensive."

Orihime poked her head up, "I don't mind. It's just teasing."

"The ramen is nearly ready anyway, dear. You might want to set the table." Tina placed the crockery onto the counter for Orihime to take. She looked at Ulquiorra, he only urged her to start setting the table. Orihime stuck her bottom lip out and picked up the bowls, gently placing them down in front of each chair and slipping pairs of chopsticks besides them. The smell of noodles and seafood invaded the house. Orihime could almost drool imagining how it would taste and then when the time came for the Schiffer's to begin eating, she was desperate to swallow the whole bowl up.

Hana picked up her chopsticks and looked over to Orihime directly opposite her and looked at her competitively, "Remember our deal."

Orihime picked up her own chopsticks, "Of course. I won't be the one losing this time."

Hana smirked, "We'll see… Ready…"

Orihime positioned herself over her bowl.

"…Get set…"

She opened up her chopsticks and waited for Hana to say the word she wanted to hear.

"…Go!"

Orihime instantly began clipping up handfuls of noodle into her mouth. She could taste the spice but continued to shovel the curly stringy stuff into her mouth. Hana was doing the same, Tina and Ulquiorra could only close their eyes in disgust as the two began binging out like pigs. The sound of slurping was putting them off their food and then there was a bang on the table after several minutes. Orihime looked up through a mouthful of noodles. She almost choked when she saw that Hana's bowl was _completely_ empty. Hana wore a proud look on her ancient face, "I finished."

Orihime chewed and swallowed the noodles in her mouth and put down her chopsticks. "How is this possible?" She yelled in disbelief.

"_I win again_."

Gritting her teeth Orihime accepted her fate, "You win." Hopefully the old woman had forgotten about the deal at the end.

"Now. We had a deal."

Orihime kicked herself in the shin. _Damn this woman!_ "Yeah we did. Go on then. Name it."

Hana grinned mischievously, "Tonight…"

Orihime began finishing the remainder of her noodles, keeping her eyes low to avoid eye contact with the old woman.

"…you will…"

The old woman was trifling with Orihime's patience, surely it wasn't that bad.

"…sleep with Ulquiorra…"

Orihime choked on the soup, Ulquiorra choked on the noodles and Tina almost spilled her cup of water. "What?" All three spluttered in unison. Ulquiorra glanced over at Orihime, she looked back at him with a worried expression.

"Mother! That is the last straw! We're going to leave if you continue to talk to Orihime this way!" Tina scolded. Her face was now a flushed pink as she apologized to Orihime, "I'm very sorry."

"What? They're getting married soon and it'll be fun to break the Schiffer Tradition just once!" Hana laughed.

"Granny! Are you insane? I can't sleep with Orihime!"

Hana nudged him in the ribs, "Come on now! I'm sure you'll want to see what's underneath her clothes."

Ulquiorra blushed a bright shade of red; Orihime was also the same colour. He began collecting the ramen bowls, "I absolutely refuse to break the tradition."

"Ah hah! But you can't decide, Orihime made a promise that the loser will have to do what the winner wants."

"Mother! Please, it's just a silly game."

"Nope! A deal is a deal. The eldest Schiffer living in the household also get's to decide what rules she wants to break and what not to break."

Orihime could almost vomit. The leeks and noodles were swirling in her stomach ready to be thrown up. A deal was a deal, and she couldn't go back on her promise, she also didn't want to seem like a coward, "Fine. I'll do it."

Hana smirked in approval. Tina bent her head down in shame because she wasn't able to contain her mum again. Ulquiorra almost snapped the bowls in half upon hearing Orihime's answer, he didn't bother trying to complain because he knew he'd be defenceless anyway. He'd make Orihime sleep on the floor and he didn't care if she complained, he absolutely would not sleep with Orihime even if she was the last female on earth.

"Well. I'm getting ready for bed. Ulquiorra you set up the guest room right?"

"Yes, Granny." He muttered.

"Good. Tina, come along. Let's leave carrot top and Ulquiorra to get _busy_."

Tina slapped her mum gently on the arms and gave her a glare for her to keep quiet. Hana only laughed in entertainment and soon disappeared down the hallways leaving Orihime alone with Ulquiorra.

Neither of them said anything until Ulquiorra finished washing the dishes, "I'm going to call Jeagerjaques and see if he made it out of the mall okay."

Orihime didn't respond for a while, "I'm going to bed early."

He snapped his head up, "No. You'll be sleeping on the floor."

"No can do. I don't sleep on floors and I don't go back on promises." She stretched her arms and dragged her feet all the way to his room. She was going to have a really long shower to relax her nerves. Today was a long stressful day. _Yeah… that sounds like a good plan…_

Just after she finished her shower, she came out the bathroom, hair still damp from the hot water and then suddenly Tina grabbed her from the shadows, "Orihime you don't have to do this."

Orihime looked at her in surprise, "Tina!"

"Granny is asleep now. You don't have to do this…"

Orihime shook her head, "Tina. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I don't go back on promises. Besides…I'm sure Ulquiorra won't touch me unless I give him permission."

The ghostly woman bent her head, "I see. Well… I wish you a good night then." And then Tina disappeared back into one of the bedrooms. Orihime opened the door to Ulquiorra's room and found him already tucked in reading a book, the bed lamp was on, the curtains were already closed. He looked up at Orihime, she stared at him and then began ruffling her hair until it was dry enough to sleep on. It was unbearably silent and Orihime didn't like it, "Was Grimmjow okay then?"

"Yeah. He made it out fine."

Throwing the towel onto a peg she lifted the blanket and began snuggling into the bed; it was a good thing that it was king-size. She wouldn't have to stay squished up next to the emo. It was best if she didn't think about it, deliberately she faced away from him. Closing her eyes helped slightly and when Ulquiorra finally shut the lamp off and laid down she found that it was slightly easier to doze off.

After a few seconds he called out her name, "Miss Inoue?"

She opened one eye, "Yeah…"

"Are you a virgin?"

Orihime almost fell off the bed; she bolted upright, "Oh! So you're going to rape me now!"

He sat up, "No! God forbid no!"

She clutched the blanket closer to her chest in case he tried anything funny, "Then why did you ask?"

He sighed, "I thought you were pregnant and assumed my mum had guessed the same thing."

Orihime was on the verge to sending him flying out the window, "Are you calling me fat?"

"No. I was merely curious. It would seem you are a virgin." He lay back down. Orihime could just make out his shadowy figure placing his arm over his head. She too lay back down and snuggled deeper into the blankets. Shutting her eyes for good.

"Thank you for making my Grandma happy."

"No big deal." She muffled out. "Besides, she's fun to be around."

After that there was total silence and then when Orihime started drifting off. She heard a small murmur next to her, "Goodnight."

She smiled weakly with her eyes closed and whispered back, "Goodnight. Ulquiorra…"

* * *

A/N: Aaaaaaahhhhh ~ What a sweet ending! If you enjoyed it press the glinting review button. You know you want to! Oh and you readers don't get to see Orihime's wedding dress until the wedding! Sorry!


	11. High School Reunion

**A/N: YO! Still haven't finished my examinations (revising hard!) but i just couldn't keep away from writing. I literally have to put myself on a restraining order LOL! Anyway...WELCOME TO CHAPTER 11! It's another pretty random chapter.**

**Discalimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 11 – High School Reunion**

"Miss Inoue. Are you awake?"

No response from the clump that was right next to him.

"Miss Inoue, I'd really appreciate it if you get you leg off me."

Still no response from the bundle. Ulquiorra sighed and jabbed it, it moved slightly. He jabbed it again and it muffled out a groan rather than waking up and moving. He tried a different approach and pinched it, yet again no response so he did what he had to do. He pulled up his Pyjama sleeve and wrapped it around his palm thinking he'd catch some incurable disease if he touched the auburn haired devil and then slowly began pushing Orihime's thighs off his waist.

It was rather uncomfortable waking up first thing in the morning with someone breathing right next to you but to make matters worse someone who basically slept on top of you. The good thing was that nothing happened that night and he had managed to get the amount of sleep required but the other bad thing was that Orihime was wearing an incredibly short, short and a thin strapped black lace vest that showed a fair bit of her chest. Ulquiorra had to close his eyes from looking at her until she shifted closer to him covering her chest up completely.

Finally Orihime's thigh flopped off his waist or rather she moved onto lying on her back and positioned her leg to extend to its full length. Her face scrunched up when Ulquiorra hopped out of bed and opened the curtains. She wasn't too pleased that Ulquiorra had decided to get up early in the morning because she knew she'd have to get up too.

Ulquiorra turned to see Orihime's eyes opening slightly into slits, "Miss Inoue! You're awake now. Perfect."

She groaned, grabbed a pillow and placed it over her throbbing head. Last night wasn't exactly the best night; yet again she had the funny dreams about her past and her brother. Ever since she'd met Ulquiorra they were coming back into her dreams increasingly. Perhaps it was because she was less stressed out from finding a job that her conscience was occupied with her past. Orihime sighed in relief when the darkness hit her half opened eyes, the smell of basil leaves and mint filled her nostrils…Ulquiorra's scent.

"Miss Inoue. Get up."

"No." She moaned. "Leave me alone."

"Miss Inoue. It's seven am. I suggest you get up and go for a jog."

Orihime threw the pillow off her head to glare at Ulquiorra, "Seven am is too fucking early to get up." She winced at the sudden intake of light her eyes had to adjust to and flopped back down the bed.

"Seven am is the perfect time to get up. The-bride-to-be is required to go out jogging whether she likes it or not." He said curtly. Any minute now he was going to give up so he began setting up a shower for himself later on.

Orihime ignored him and rolled around underneath the blanket trying to find the right position to fall asleep again and just when she found it there was a knock on the door. _Who is it now?_

"Carrot top?" a voice called. Orihime shot up upon realising that Hana was just on the other side of the door. She glanced over at Ulquiorra who too realised his Grandma was coming. Quickly he jumped back into bed next to Orihime. "Lay down." He told her as he threw the blanket over his legs. Orihime nodded and followed his command without questioning his motive. Suddenly he placed an arm around her waist and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, his body partially on top of Orihime's

"What the fuck are you doing Ulquiorra?" she hissed.

"Shhhh! I'm making it seem like we're in love. What else?" He hissed back. "Hug me."

Orihime gaped at him, "You want me to what?"

"Hurry up before granny comes in." He breathed on her neck. His lips were almost touching her skin. Obediently she did so wrapping both arms around his neck when the handle of the bedroom door began rattling.

"Now close your eyes and pretend you're whispering something to me."

Orihime stared at him like he was insane. One day this man would be sent to an asylum, she was sure of it. Unsure of what to do she placed her lips by his ear and shut her eyelids tightly.

She felt his lips curve into a small smile on her neck. "Relax." he breathed out.

The door finally creaked opened, Hana stepped in. Orihime opened her lips as if to say something to Ulquiorra and then she slowly lifted her eyelids to see Hana standing happily by the door way in her felt plain blue pyjamas and small but puffy slippers.

"Carrot top. You're awake."

Orihime pretended to look tired or make out that she had just woken up; knowing what a hangover felt like helped her acting and the situation she was currently in, "Yeah. Sort of." It was a good thing that her voice was also a little croaky. It made things a bit more believable.

Her smile turned into a devilish grin, her eyes wandered casually to the back of Ulquiorra's head which was currently shielded by Orihime's neck and then to where his arms were, "How about Ulquiorra?"

"He's…" Orihime was almost going to say 'awake' when Ulquiorra mumbled something quietly against her throat. Even though she didn't hear it she knew he told her to lie, "…asleep."

Hana smiled, "Did you have a good night then." The smirk on her face implied a totally different question.

Orihime knew what she was actually implying and answered back, "Yeah. We spent the night hugging each other and talking."

Hana's face showed something of somewhat disappointment as if she were hoping for something more, "I see."

"What brings you here?"

"I'm here to take you out for a morning jog." Her face lightened up slightly. The tone in her voice sounded like she was asking for Orihime to come rather than a demand.

_So __**that's**__ the reason why Ulquiorra told me to get up. _There was no way she could turn down the smiling old lady's face. Orihime turned to Ulquiorra almost banging heads with him, "Ulquiorra. Can you get off me? I'm going out for a jog."

He pretended to muffle out something of disinterest. Orihime took it as an exception and rolled his body off hers with the palm of her hand. Right now she could kick him for faking this situation but that was just the way he was, wasn't it?

Hana saw how Orihime looked so hesitant to leave Ulquiorra alone, "It's okay. He won't miss you so long as you don't take too long."

Orihime looked up from the bed, "I wasn't worried about that." Slowly she slid out of the bed wedging her foot in her slippers once her foot touched the ground.

"You looked a bit hesitant to leave him."

She snorted, "No. I'll leave this jerk anytime."

The old lady smiled, knowing full well that Orihime was just teasing her lazy fiancé just so he could get pissed off. It certainly was funny to watch Ulquiorra's half buried face twitch in anger at Orihime's snide remark but still he did not stir. Ulquiorra was always like this since he was a child. He was someone who was able to control his temper and not unleash it like it was some sort of war.

"Will you wait a bit Hana?" Orihime asked. She was already about to walk out the bedroom door anyway. Her clothes were located in the other room giving her some relief that she didn't have to stay cooped up with Ulquiorra and his grandma. It also meant that she could have time to take a refresher and to be alone to think things over. Who would've thought that posing as a celebrity's fiancé would be so hard?

"Go ahead my dear. I'll be here when you're ready."

Orihime nodded without saying a word and headed down the hallways to reach the room with her belongings tucked inside.

Hana waited until the pattering of Orihime's footsteps faded into the distance. Only then she knew that she was truly alone with Ulquiorra, "I know you're awake."

She watched as his body rolled over, crumpling up the blanket into an even messier state than it previously was before. Ulquiorra placed the back of his bony hand above his eyelids to block out some of the light that threatened to blind his eyes. "I knew you'd figure out I was awake." His voice was slightly scratchy showy that the spicy Ramen from last night was taking effect in giving him a sore throat. He attempted to rehydrate his throat by swallowing his own spit and obviously it didn't work so he had the urge to drink some water. "You didn't just come here to take Orihime for a jog in the garden did you." It wasn't a question but a statement.

Hana chuckled lightly, "You know me all too well." Using the wooden walking stick for extra support she began waddling over to the bed. Slowly she sat down onto the mattress enjoying the feeling of softness and how it sank very slowly like sand.

Ulquiorra sat up and swung his legs on the edge of the bed beside his grandma, "So what did you come here for?"

"Is it a crime just to see my adorable grandson in the morning?"

Ulquiorra chuckled, "I'm not 6 anymore. I'm a full grown man."

Hana sighed as if she suddenly remembered that fact. Her pale wrinkled hand reached out to pat Ulquiorra on the head like he was a puppy waiting for his owner to throw a ball. "Sometimes I forget that you're no longer a child. Time can travel by so fast." She looked at him adoringly.

Ulquiorra could only smile at her response. He adored his grandma to bits and he wanted to spend every minute he could with her so that he could cherish the memories forever. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

"Now you're getting married to one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life."

Ulquiorra looked down in surprise, "You think Orihime's beautiful?"

Hana shrugged, "Naturally. She's smart and she's funny. No wonder why you chose Orihime above _her_."

Ulquiorra jabbed his grandma in the arm with his pinkie finger, "_Her_, has a name."

"Bah! That girl doesn't deserve her name to be said. I never liked her in the beginning. She was too… fake. My presumption of her was correct; in the end she broke you're heart." As she said those words she placed a hand over Ulquiorra's chest feeling the warmth emitting from his body and the small faint heartbeats that sustained his life. She removed her hand but replaced it with his own, with hers on top keeping it in position. "You're heart belongs to Orihime now. At least I know that I can rest in peace."

Ulquiorra's face saddened._ In 6 months… Orihime will be disposed of. I'm so sorry…Granny. I am a failure…_

Hana suddenly reined him in for a heart-warming hug. His nostrils were filled with the scent lavender that instantly calmed his mind of unclear thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her waist so that she was trapped.

In a heartbeat Orihime appeared by the doorway, fully dressed appropriately for jogging in neutral weather. Her eyes met the sweet view of Ulquiorra hugging his grandma and for a moment she felt as if she were being embraced as well. Not wanting to disturb their moment she turned on her heels and began creeping into the hallway when she heard her name being called. Instantly she turned back to see both green eyes wide and staring back at hers. Ulquiorra's one arm was still wrapped around his grandma's waist and his gaze remained the same as it usually was. He slipped his hand of Hana's waist giving the old woman freedom to stand.

"Well. Are you ready?"

Orihime nodded in response and then she paused for a moment to look at Hana clutching her walking stick for support, "But… Aren't you unable to jog? I don't mean to be rude but in your condition-"

Hana shook her head as if she was talking to an inexperienced child, "On the contrary carrot top. You will not be racing against me…"

"Wait, wait… I'm _racing_ against someone?" she pointed to herself as if she was unable to believe it. "You said a jog."

Hana laughed out loud, "No, No! Jogging is too easy. You will be racing against my daughter."

Everything went quiet; Orihime remained frozen with a fake smile on her face and then after a while she spoke softly, "I'm _racing_ against _Tina_."

"Precisely!"

Right now Orihime couldn't care less if a brick fell onto her head and knocked her unconscious, "Why?"

Ulquiorra cut in before his grandma could even open her lips, "We just want to see your stamina, how fast you can run and you're ability to cope in conditions. No big deal." He said it like it was nothing more than a light weight on his shoulders.

"Actually. There's something else too."

Ulquiorra's brows knitted together in confusion, "What more is there Granny?"

Hana smiled devishly again. It was her favourite smile to use whenever she was being cheeky or had a disgusting plan to inflict upon Orihime. The auburn hair girl knew that smile meant hell and prepared herself for whatever Hana was going to say. Ulquiorra too knew that smile but he was almost certain that the reason wasn't all that bad because he couldn't really think of any more obscene ideas seeing how she already made Orihime get in the same bed as him.

"I'm just seeing if you're a person who can bare good kids."

Orihime almost vomited right by the door and Ulquiorra could almost choke on air until he spluttered out, "Granny! We're not that far into the relationship!"

"You will be soon! Mind you I want lots of healthy and strong grandchildren."

Orihime silently begged God to take her life before Hana could say something crude again. This time God was forgiving… Instead of taking her life he'd sent Tina just in the nick of time.

"Mother. What are you doing here?" her eyes were wide but they showed the same green crystals eyes that glinted underneath the marble smooth eyelids. As usual her jet black hair was curly at the tips slightly and straight at the top, it was carefully draped over her shoulders and fell down like ribbons in the front. There was no trace that pointed out she had been sleeping. Unlike Orihime she wore the classic gear for running.

"Nothing my dear. Just seeing how the happy couple is doing." Hana lied.

Tina frowned momentarily and turned to Orihime, "Well I assume granny's told you about this morning."

"The racing thing?"

Tina nodded eagerly with her famous smile on her perfect features. Orihime assumed that Tina didn't know the other reason why Hana was observing her and chose not to raise the subject in fear that Tina would start yelling at her mum.

"Ulquiorra dear. You wouldn't mind me borrowing Orihime for a few minutes will you?"

Her son smiled innocently secretly happy that Orihime was made to suffer, "No of course not. You can borrow Orihime _anytime_."

He smirked at Orihime who scowled at him knowing full well what his intentions were. She opened her mouth to raise a complaint or an excuse to prevent her from running until Tina grabbed her wrist and dragged her outside without saying a word. Hana eagerly followed the two out into the garden. Ulquiorra sat on his bed like a child waving goodbye to Orihime whilst no one else was looking. When she was done with running, boy would she kill him.

Tina flung open the garden doors letting a cold gush of wind encase their bodies. The sky was a clear blue with small white wispy clouds in random places. The sun was out, making everything it touched glitter. A small summer breeze was the cherry on top but Orihime couldn't help but shiver slightly.

"Nice weather today isn't it?" Tina sighed. She breathed in a healthy dose of fresh air and jumped out onto the patio. Orihime followed after her with less enthusiasm, as she stepped out onto the patio her hands unconsciously cradled her arms as if it was cold. She couldn't help but grit her teeth as she sucked in some air.

"Well let's get warmed up. Mind you I'm a fast runner." Tina warned. Slowly she began stretching her calves on each leg for roughly eight second before working her way up to her hamstrings. Not knowing what to do, Orihime copied Tina's moves ungracefully. Hana couldn't help but laugh at Orihime's inexperience in so many things. It was a wonder why Ulquiorra would choose to marry someone who barely knew how to warm up.

All of a sudden Tina happily chimed out, "I'm ready!"

"What?" Orihime instantly began to panic. Not only was she not ready but also because running wasn't exactly her strongest point in sports. It never had been in high school, the only thing she was good at was baseball and rounder's and though they did require running she usually had to do a light jog because she was a good batter. "Hold on Tina! I'm not done."

The raven haired woman noticed her discomfort, "You don't have to race against me. We're only doing this to examine you."

Not wanting to sound like a wuss Orihime objected, "No. It's fine besides it'll help me lose a couple of calories."

"You've never done this before?" Tina asked with great interest. Bending down she got into position which Olympic athletes would usually do.

Orihime shook her head slowly, "I'm…not the type to get up this early." Then she followed Tina's actions and incorporated it into her own clumsy actions. Hana chuckled at how Orihime almost fell over from trying to bend down; Tina couldn't help but smile in amusement too and then she turned her head to her mum, "You're timing right?"

Hana sat down on the white metal bench that was standing beside the large cherry blossom tree, "Of course."

Tina turned her head back to the track ahead of her, "Finish line is at the apple tree."

Orihime looked across the green lawn to the small apple tree that looked so fragile. She calculated the distance and it was about 600 meters away from where they were starting, "The apple tree. Got it."

"On your marks…" Hana called out. Orihime focused her vision directly in front of her. Her eyes locked onto the miniature apple tree that swayed with the wind.

"…Get set…"

Tina relaxed her muscles like a cheetah would do when they were prowling around their prey. She arched her shoulders back and straightened her legs slightly using her hands that were on their fingertips in the front to keep her balance. Slowly she positioned her head higher to listen out for her mother's words and instead heard the sweet birds that were tweeting in the trees which was a perfect way to summarize the weather. Orihime swivelled her eyes to meet Tina's, it was the war of the in-laws.

"…Go!"

Just like a bullet both females shot off immediately. Hana was morally surprised to see that Orihime was able to catch up to her daughter halfway through. She sat up straighter to get a better view and then snapped her head to the direction of the house upon hearing the door opening.

Ulquiorra strolled out with his hands folded behind his back; he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, "It feels great out here."

Hana only hummed in response. Her eyes went back to focusing on the heated competition between the two women, "Carrot top is doing quite well."

Ulquiorra stared of into the distance trying to pick out two people and the he spotted the noticeable orange head of his 'fiancé'. She was lagging behind his mum slightly but she was keeping her pace up. "Hmm. She is." He mused. Slowly he made his way to sit beside his grandma and watched the show that was on with great interest. "I honestly didn't know Orihime could be so fascinating."

Hana chuckled, "I didn't either. When I first saw her she looked like an airhead."

Ulquiorra laughed lightly and then began to hush down. A Sakura blossom fell onto his lap, with great care he scooped it up and looked at the flower in detail. Then he was reminded of _her_. "Hey granny."

"Yes."

"How is _she_?"

His grandma glanced at him in confusion, "Who?"

"_Her_." He clasped his fingers around the blossom that lay in his palm. The petals felt like velvet against his fingertips.

Hana scowled when she realised who he was talking about, "I wouldn't know. She's probably dating another Japanese company owner seeing how she did _that_ to you."

"I don't blame her. Maybe I just wasn't good enough and she deserves better."

Hana scowled deeper, "Of course not! I still can't believe that you're in love with her."

His rolled his hands into a fist ball encasing the blossom completely, "Granny. She was my first love, nothing can compare to that."

"So you still love her?"

"I did just a few weeks ago and there still might be some emotions for her but…"

His grandma faced him fully showing she was paying attention, "But?"

He slowly unravelled his fingers one by one, "I think I'm ready to let go of those feelings and I'm ready to let go of her." He held out his hand letting the blossom sweep away with the breeze and then slowly disappearing into the distance. Hana watched his actions and her eyes trailed after the pink flower until it disappeared with the breeze.

"Is it because of Orihime?"

Ulquiorra lowered his head to look at his grandma. He gave a small smile, "That's for me to know and you to find out."

…

"So who won the contest?" Orihime asked eagerly.

"Tina."

"What?" Orihime banged the dining table in disbelief nearly breaking the plate in front of her. She spotted Hana sniggering slightly and scowled, "You're lying aren't you?" When the old woman didn't answer she grabbed her piece of buttered toast and savagely took a large bite from the corner. It was now around 9 and the Schiffer's were eating breakfast however Tina had opted not to eat leaving Orihime with Hana and Ulquiorra.

"Chew with your mouth closed." Ulquiorra snapped.

"I am." Orihime protested through a mouthful of toast.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

Orihime kicked Ulquiorra on the shin underneath the table whilst she glugged down some orange juice. He winced and reached down to nurse his possibly bruised shin. The old woman laughed aloud at the two bickering in each other's faces, "You lot are a right riot."

Orihime licked her lips prepared to take another bite of her half half-eaten toast, "He started it." She pointed her thumb in his direction and then stuffed the remaining toast into her mouth. Ulquiorra crinkled his face in disgust at the way she ate.

"Anyway. From now on carrot top you get up at seven in the morning and go out jogging."

Orihime chugged some more juice down and then swallowed, "But why?"

Ulquiorra cut in, "Schiffer tradition."

"Figures." She sighed. Then she became curious about the Schiffer tradition. What was it exactly? What purpose did it have? It sounded lame, "What is the Schiffer Tradition exactly?"

"The Schiffer tradition? It's like a book of rules. Basically it's like the Law."

"Must be a pain in the ass."

Hana smirked, "Hell yeah. Ulquiorra forgot to mention that every Schiffer has to follow it."

Orihime made a face, "The why does it bother to exist? Wouldn't it be easier if it didn't?"

"Because it doesn't cause trouble like other rich families. We're the only proper functioning aristocratic family in Japan." Ulquiorra explained. "If we didn't have it our lives would be chaos. It keeps things in a neat routine. Just the way I like it."

Hana huffed vibrating her lips like Ulquiorra had spewed out nonsense, "Peesh! Personally I think it's a load of bull crap!"

Orihime held out her hand for a high five. "You rock!"

Ulquiorra started gathering the plates to wash. "Absolutely childish." he sighed. Orihime only laughed along with Hana and continued to bully him. Just then the door bell rang, Orihime stopped jeering at the emo's face, "Who could it be at this time?"

She left Hana to bully Ulquiorra as he washed up the plates and mugs and she left in pursue to open the door. It was a very bad idea, as soon as she opened it her eyes met thousands of different eyes but she knew these people well. They were the faces of her high school friends.

"SURPRISE!" They yelled out. Orihime was rather taken back by their sudden appearance in America.

"What are you guys doing in America!" she stuttered in disbelief. It had been _years_ since she'd seen them. Most of them had grown rather tall but their faces were the same, they hadn't matured one bit. Her hand was clenching onto the door ready to slam it in their faces.

Someone stepped up onto the porch. "Yo Hime!" Rangiku smiled for a moment both of them stood where they were taking in each other's features. She yanked Orihime away from the door and pulled her in for a hug, "Long time no see."

"Rangiku!" Orihime wheezed as she tried to breathe. Rangiku let go of her and stepped down as the next person stepped up. Orihime found herself staring in the face of her best buddy, Tatsuki.

"Hey Tats." She smiled and shyly lifted her hand to wave. Tatsuki's eyes brimmed with tears of joy and she too pulled Orihime in for the tightest hug in the whole world. Orihime hugged her back, "It's been a while."

Tatsuki pulled away and sniffled, "Yeah. Never run away ever again! You had me so worried all these years and then I find out your engaged to Ulquiorra Schiffer!"

"Congratulations!" Mizuiro stepped out from the crowd of people to the frontlines. "We're wishing you every happiness with him."

"Thank you Mizuiro. But just why are you all here?"

Chizuru fought her way into the front and stood beside Mizuiro, "We tracked you down! Don't think that you could run away from us!"

Keigo strolled up to Orihime, "We're here because you mum-in-law invited us."

"But then how did you get here so fast from Japan?"

"Ichigo and Rukia called us to tell us that they found you. All of us arranged to go to America. It was lucky that we were all at Ichigo's house when your mum called." Rangiku explained slowly like she piecing things together. "You have no idea how worried we were for you and when Rukia called me I just couldn't believe it."

"This is all…" she looked at each of their faces, "…very sudden."

"We just wanted to see how you were. We never gave up on looking for you." Tatsuki stated proudly. "Uryuu was also worried. Right now he's at Ichigo's and they're coming over later."

Orihime almost choked. "What?" she coughed out quietly.

No one heard her voice, Rangiku spoke softly, "Can we come in?"

Orihime nodded and lead the way inside to the living room. When she appeared into the kitchen her face was full of nervousness, Ulquiorra looked at her questioningly and then he looked behind to see her friends looking around the area but tagging behind Orihime.

"Let me guess. Mum's doing?"

Orihime nodded.

"I'm going to kill that woman." He muttered. "I specifically told her not to do anything like this." He looked at the curious crowd of friends and sighed in defeat. After looking around the house from where they were standing they began looking at Ulquiorra.

Chizuru was so keen on getting to know him. After all… he was a celebrity, "Hello Mr Schiffer."

He nodded but didn't greet her back in return. Orihime elbowed him and then laughed nervously, "Ulquiorra's a little shy in front of strangers."

They all giggled at Orihime's short statement. Rangiku nudged Orihime and commented on his looks, "He's so much better looking than in the posters."

Orihime snapped her head up to Rangiku who wiggled her eyebrows playfully with a wide grin slapped onto her face. Ulquiorra cleared his throat catching everyone's attention. The he spoke, "If you'll excuse me?"

Orihime shoved him to get him walking, "Just go you dork."

He hastily left to find his mother so he could kill her. Perhaps his grandma was partially in the plan too which would explain why she suddenly left the kitchen. If so he was going to kill her too.

Orihime turned to her friends, "You can sit down."

They all burst out into screams of excitement, Orihime winced at the level of noise.

"Oh My God! We're in Ulquiorra Schiffer's house!"

"Chizuru. I'd appreciate it if you'd cam down." Orihime hushed. "We've got a lot to catch up on."

Instantly her friends sprawled themselves onto the chairs, sofa and carpet. Orihime sat beside Tatsuki on the sofa and folded her hands neatly on her lap, "Well what do you guys want to know?"

Tatsuki clambered her hands over Orihime's shoulder and craned her head in, "Everything."

Orihime tilted her head to the side, "Everything?"

Everyone nodded in response craning their heads in just like her best friend.

"But where should I start?"

Rangiku laughed, "The beginning of course! From the time you ran away."

Orihime groaned uncertainly. She wasn't sure that she wanted to tell them that just yet. Not because she didn't trust them but because she made a sworn promise never to go back to that story unless she met someone she was willing to tell the story to, possibly someone she loved. Right now she wasn't clear who she loved. There was still some feeling's for Ichigo since she found out he was divorced, but she wasn't sure whether those feelings were influenced by 'hope'. Hope of starting over with Ichigo, hope of turning a new page and being 'something' _more_ to Ichigo.

"How about I start from when I arrived in America?"

"Sure. Sounds good to me." Mizuiro shrugged.

Orihime took a deep breath and in her mind she winded the years backwards back to the years of her youth. Though it was a long time ago the pain she had to endure alone was always there to imprint the scene into her mind, like it was carved into a rock. Exhaling she relaxed the muscles that tensed up before beginning her side of the story.

* * *

**A/N: Isn't that just sweet? Her friends came. I was thinking it was about time that they make an appearence, it would have been shameful if half the main characters weren't in this story! XD. But back to the suspension that went on in the conversation between granny and Ulquiorra. Just who is this mysterious _'her'_? What was her relation with Ulquiorra? Is she someone we know? Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuun! Find out in the later chapters!(I cannot garentee it'll be in 12). Ya'll know what to do next! Review! ^.^ (P.S. There will be more Ulquihime in the next chapters HOWEVER this is a DRAMA story so I hope you guys understand that Ichigo has to be the one Orihime still likes. It will change though!)**


	12. It's not what it seems

**A/N: I find it surprising that when I'm meant to be doing something else I get chapters uploaded quicker but when I'm not busy the chapter's significantly get uploaded and typed up slower. XD. I was watching a japanses drama called 'Liar Game' and boy was it good! however there was no romance in it (though you could definitely tell that the main characters liked each other)! I hope that this chapter is a little better than number 11 because last time I recieved quite a lot of...****negative comments. Anyway... the wedding isn't far off and you lucky people will get to see Orihime's wedding outfit soon. You'll also find a twist in this story but you'll definitely like this 'twist'.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 12 – It's not what it seems**

"So then what did you do after that?"

"I stayed here with Ulquiorra. What else would you do if your…'boyfriend' got down on his knees and begged you to be his wife?"

Rangiku lunged forward to tackled Orihime into a hug, "That is so cute!"

"Get of me Ran." Orihime laughed as she tried pushing the blonde off her body. So far for nearly about two hours Tina had been getting to know all of Orihime's friends all at once. Most of them were happy to talk about themselves in front of a celebrity and lots of them told old stories that Orihime had long forgotten in her past. Hana was already addicted by the first sentence that came out from Keigo's lips. Tina was extremely disappointed when they said they had to leave but she was glad Tatsuki and Rangiku had stayed.

"You sure nailed it. Who would've thought the great Ulquiorra Schiffer would go down onto his knees just so you could be his?" Tatsuki sighed. Currently all the girls were crammed into Ulquiorra's room because Rangiku had decided to snoop around the house and had found his room to stay in. Orihime had tried to convince her to go to her room but Rangiku refused and demanded that they stay where they were and once she made up her mind there was no changing it.

"I know. He told me that if I didn't marry him he'd die."

Rangiku released Orihime, "Are you serious?"

Orihime paused, though she didn't like lying to her friends it was kind of fun to make Ulquiorra seem like his heart turned to jelly whenever he was around her. Rangiku and Tatsuki seemed to be buying the fib. Someday she would tell them the truth but perhaps not now, "Uh huh."

"Whoa. It's pretty hard to find a man like that nowadays. It's all fun and games for them. I'm jealous!"

Orihime snorted, "Jealous of what? You've got a pretty face and a good body. What man in the right mind would say no to you?"

Rangiku smiled widely at Orihime's comment, "It's good to know that. I'm still jealous though, you have my traits and you have a rich husband-to-be, let alone a _celebrity_!" she scratched the back of her head as though it was all very confusing.

Orihime frowned, "He's not all that great."

Tatsuki was on her case within seconds before Rangiku, "What do you mean?"

Orihime placed a finger on her chin as she thought of an answer to start with, "Well…"

"Is he bullying you? Is he treating you like some sort of slave?" Tatsuki demanded. She approached Orihime who smiled nervously, "N-no. It's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" Rangiku asked.

"Well…sometimes he can be an arrogant jerk. You know… one of those people who just want to strangle when they act like pigs." She held out her hands like he was there and pretended to coil her hands around something making a face as she did so and then she looked up and looked at Rangiku questioningly as if asking if she understood.

Rangiku recoiled back, "Aaaah. I see now."

Tatsuki began picking at her nails, "Yeah. We know what you mean. Men can be real jerks when it comes to women."

Orihime stifled a laugh. "That's a good point."

"So what do we do now? I mean all the other's have left so what do we do?"

Tina appeared from behind the bedroom door, "You can help plan the wedding."

Everyone turned around in surprise at the sudden intrusion. Tina waved, "Hello Ms. Matsumoto and Ms. Arisawa."

"Hello." Both said in unison, nodding their heads instead of waving. Tina sat on the edge of the bed next to Rangiku, Orihime in the centre of the heaped mess of blankets and Tatsuki leaning against the bed post whilst fondling with her nails. For a moment Orihime could laugh at how everything seemed like a girl's sleepover.

"Orihime we've moved the wedding." Tina said solemnly.

"Oh that's good I was thinking that two weeks was-"

"Exactly! I thought it was too late as well."

Orihime's jaw dropped. That was exactly the opposite of what she was going to suggest her shoulders drooped lower as she forced a question out, "So then when is the wedding?"

"I'm glad you asked." Tina clapped her hands and rubbed them together, "It's taking place in four days."

Orihime gaped at her and just when things couldn't possibly get any worse Tina decided to add more, "Starting today."

Orihime looked in horror at Tina's angelic smiley face, "Four days time! W-who told you to do that!"

"Funny reason actually. Ulquiorra suddenly came storming into my room and yelled out some random things. I think he was angry because the wedding was too far so I moved the date and rebooked the venue."

Could this mum get any more clueless? Had a brick just fallen from the sky and hit her on the head until she literally didn't have a brain? Ulquiorra didn't want _that_ he'd just simply come over to complain about inviting friends into his house. Four days gave Orihime even less to prepare for the day she would be bound to Ulquiorra for 6 hellish months. Orihime could almost imagine a disastrous wedding taking place in the church with her as the centre of attention, something shit was bound to happen seeing how she was an accident pro. Perhaps she could _try_ and persuade for it to be postponed but knowing Tina it was like trying to get a dog to talk.

"That's very good news Mrs Schiffer."

Tina nodded to Rangiku's response. Tatsuki on the other hand wasn't so sure and she stepped up to place her point, "Mrs Schiffer. Don't you think this is going all too fast? Ulquiorra just proposed a few days ago and yet the wedding is so soon."

Tina raised a finger, "Ah, but that's where you are wrong. Ulquiorra was lucky that he didn't get an arranged marriage just like my mother; he got to _choose _who he'd be linked to for life. Usually they'd be married in two days after the proposal in an arranged marriage. Technically speaking the wedding is _late _according to Schiffer traditions."

"Shouldn't Orihime get to change those traditions? Doesn't she have a freedom to choose?" Tatsuki stood up like she was debating for her life. Orihime wanted to nod in agreement with her but she knew it was best to stay out of it.

"Tatsuki. Just leave it." Rangiku said in her attempt to stop the debate.

"No it's fine Ms. Matsumoto. I'll explain." Tina turned back to Tatsuki, "Orihime doesn't have much of a choice. Break the rules, severe punishment. It is only the eldest living Schiffer in the house who gets to choose what rules to break or follow. I also have no choice in the matter because I am not the eldest Schiffer; this was entirely my mother's choice." By the end of the sentence Tina's toned had changed from high to slightly lower and more stern.

Orihime could see Tatsuki shrivelling back into her rightful place. She'd lost the battle and as much as Orihime wanted to help she couldn't. Tatsuki backed down and only managed to mumble out, "I understand."

"Thank you. I appreciate trying to help Orihime and Ulquiorra out."

Tatsuki didn't answer and went back to picking her nails. For the first time she felt _defeated_. It was the first time something inside of her stepped down to a fight. Was it because something inside her told her that Orihime wanted this more than anything? Or was it a fact that she was weak?

"Back to the point. We only have four days until the wedding so we have to get the organization done. Most of the paperwork has already been done now we just need you to make a few decisions."

Orihime blanked out completely, still unable to take in the information Tina had just announced. The gears in her head were still processing it chunk by chunk and somehow they'd just stopped working completely, "Like what?"

"The maid of honour. Food tasting for the dishes that will be served and I believe that we have an issue of where you'll be going for your honeymoon afterwards."

Orihime blinked and lifted her hand, "Wait, wait, wait! _Honeymoon_?"

"Yeah. Those things you go to after a wedding. Sort of like a holiday between the two of you."

"No. I know but who said anything about a _honeymoon_?" Orihime hadn't seen that one coming and she most certainly didn't want one. At least not alone with _him_. The jerk was bound to play some tricks on her in the night or at least try and frighten her off the face off the planet.

"You don't want a honeymoon?" Tina asked slowly. Her eyes turned round and big and they watered like an upset kitten. At some point Ulquiorra had warned Orihime about the puppy dog look in which Tina would widen her eyes and water them to make them look cuter. Apparently they got Tina whatever she wanted in life, Orihime wasn't so convinced…until now.

She didn't know what to do and managed to spit out a panicked answer, "No! It's not that."

Tina's eyes reversed back to the usual green crystals, "Good. Then we can sort the honeymoon after lunch."

Orihime opened her mouth to say something but Tina had already begun to waltz out the room with a happy look plastered onto her face. Orihime exhaled in defeat and lowered her head. Ulquiorra had clearly warned her about that too… that she'd waltz out at any given moment when she got what she wanted.

"Oh my God Hime! You definitely hit the jackpot."

"Rangiku!"Orihime pouted crossing her arms in frustration that Rangiku was repeating the same line over again. She had not hit the Jackpot, she'd hit the concrete floor, rock hard.

"I'm sorry but I'm just so happy for you!"

"What is there to be happy about? I'm getting married in under _four_ days." Orihime muttered.

"Honey. That's a good thing. I mean you can't get any better than Ulquiorra Schiffer!" Rangiku hugged Orihime again playfully.

"Do you know how much pressure that puts on me? It's like forcing me to eat dog shit every day."

Rangiku pulled away, "That's kinda…harsh Hime."

Orihime jumped off the bed and stood in front of Rangiku with her hands on her hips, "It's not. Listen I'm only going to say this once so you'd better listen up." She caught Rangiku's attention but Tatsuki was still pondering over why she was unable to bring up a fight with Orihime's mother-in-law. "You too Tatsuki." That did it. She now had both of their undivided attention. The pressure was just too much to keep on her own, she had to talk it out with two of her closest mates and what better chance was it now?

"This wedding is not what it seems." She started. The truth was just about on the edge of her lips ready to spill out like beans. Tatsuki and Rangiku's faces showed something of disappointment as if they had been expecting something more coming from Orihime.

Rangiku lifted and eyebrow, "Not what it seems?"

Groaning Orihime rephrased it into a simpler sentence, "You heard me. This wedding is not how it looks."

Tatsuki grabbed Orihime on the shoulders and roughly shook her whilst looking into her eyes questioningly, "Orihime what are you talking about?"

The auburn haired girl brushed Tatsuki's hand off, lowering her head as she did so. She wanted to avoid eye contact when she told them the complete truth even if it destroyed their friendship. They deserved to know. Quietly she urged the words out through her lips, "The wedding is a fake."

Rangiku laughed after a moment, "That's a good one. You almost had us there."

Tatsuki didn't agree and her eyes narrowed down as Orihime said those words. Orihime lowered her head in shame as Rangiku took time to think it over properly and when the innocent blond realised that Orihime was telling the truth her face saddened almost instantly. There was a long silence that followed after until Tatsuki stepped up, "Why?"

"Why what?" Orihime smirked. It wasn't out of smugness but because she could laugh at herself for being a disgrace to mankind.

"Why would you do this?" Tatsuki interrogated like she was convicting a criminal. It wasn't like her best friend to do this kind of thing and secretly she hoped it wasn't the reason she thought it would be. To go that far would be stooping so low down into society; no… it would be something despicable.

Orihime sighed but kept her head hung low still out of shame taking a few breaths in slowly she forced the next words out from her lips, "I'm not in love with Ulquiorra."

Rangiku gasped at Orihime's short fact of the truth. Tatsuki clenched her fists into a tight ball. Both were unable to believe their ears.

"Haven't you even thought _once_ why he'd even choose me above all other eligible females in the world?" Orihime laughed at her own pathetic question, "I'm just a messed up child inside."

Rangiku placed a hand on the auburn haired girl's shoulder. Orihime shrugged it off and lowered her tone, "Don't touch me." It wasn't that she didn't want her best friend to comfort her, it was the fact that Orihime felt she was so dirty that no one should deserve to touch her.

Rangiku withdrew her hand away keeping it close to her chest, her expression showed the emotions of somebody that was hurt.

Orihime smiled, "I'm doing this for money… that's why you shouldn't talk to me anymore."

Rangiku and Tatsuki could only look at her with shock from the bed. They were speechless and couldn't say anything as Orihime left the room in a hurry, slamming the door violently behind her. However both her best friends caught a glimpse on something in her eyes that reflected off emotions of anger, sorrow and hatred.

Orihime kept her hand on the door handle, unable to release it as if it were the only link that kept her friendship on the line.

"You lied."

"I don't need your sneering, Ulquiorra. Leave me alone." She hissed lifting her head to face his. His face remained plain and unscathed by her warning. His hands were casually folded over his chest and he was leaning against the wall that separated his room from the hallway.

"I'm not here to sneer at you." He said as he easily followed Orihime into her room. He could sense that she was very angry but it didn't stop him from poking his nose into the subject. Orihime flumped onto her bed face down, her hair going affray in different directions and her arms spread out in awkward directions. Ulquiorra closed the door behind him and leant on it in case anyone tried to enter. Yet again he went back into his original pose, "Why didn't you tell them about Grandma?"

Orihime tilted her head to the side and blew the hair out of her face and licked her lips. "What is there to tell?" She groaned out.

"Lots." The tone in his voice hinted that he had more to say, he uncrossed his arms and placed them into his trouser pockets.

Orihime clutched onto the blankets making them crease at her fingertips. She didn't speak but remained quiet as she listened to what Ulquiorra had to say.

"You said a lot of hurtful things to yourself back then."

Orihime clutched onto the blankets tighter and spat out bitterly, "What does it matter to you? It's not like you care." She fell silent and then added more, "I deserve it anyway."

"That's what you alone think."

Orihime raised her head up from the blankets in confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed together as her vision focused solely on Ulquiorra's casual form, "What?"

"Miss Inoue. Before you said that I could've chosen any woman asides from you."

"What of it?"

Ulquiorra lazily pushed himself of the wall, "Miss Inoue, why do you think I picked you above all others?"

Orihime flopped her head back onto the bed and muffled out, "Because I am a despicable person who easily gets bribed by your filthy money."

"I'll admit you're something different, Miss Inoue."

Orihime groaned in response as her head remained buried in the pile of auburn hair and blankets.

"There's several reasons to why I have chosen you."

Orihime yawned, "Why would that be?"

"In truth you're someone who doesn't fool around but cuts straight to the point. You're considerably honest when it comes to seriousness. You completely disobey me but surprise me with the way you don't act the way I tell you to and start being yourself around my grandma and mother. You don't give a care in the world if you get in trouble because you resolve your problems yourself. You'll do whatever it takes to complete your mission, even if it involves killing yourself. You hate me to bits rather than adoring me. You'll start a war for no reason but you'll also fight fair." Ulquiorra paused to see if she would answer or complain to 'complements' but to his amusement the only sound coming from the princess… was the peaceful sound of breathing that ushered from her lips when she was asleep. Ulquiorra almost gaped at how fast she could fall asleep, "Miss Inoue?"

No answer. It was amazing how she could fall asleep through all of the drama and noise that she had just been through. Maybe she was tired from racing this morning and the run between his mum and her did look extremely intense. She truly was something special, like the rarest treasure that was lost to the sea.

Ulquiorra sighed and slipped his hands underneath her limp body repositioning it so her head was upon the puffy pillows; he carefully rolled her onto her back.

"Sora…" She moaned out. A small smile appeared onto her face.

Ulquiorra brushed her hair aside ignoring the fact that she had just called out for somebody else's name. He'd look into her documents and find out who this 'Sora' was later. Carefully he pulled the blankets from underneath her and placed it over her body. Her eyes were closed serenely and her once tensed up muscles instantly flopped loose.

Slowly he reigned himself back up to full height, "However there is something else to add on to that list…"

Orihime chewed on her lip as if she were dreaming of being flirtatious. Ulquiorra laughed slightly at the thought of her having some kind of dirty fantasy, he prepared to leave the room, "…whether you're awake or not you'll only get to hear this once…"

Orihime didn't stir nor move. He could tell that she was definitely in a deep sleep.

Taking a deep breath he slowly phrased the words properly just as he walked out the door, "… I like you…"

…

"I'm sorry Miss Matsumoto and Miss Arisawa for today."

Tatsuki gave Ulquiorra a cold glare. After she found out what happened she wasn't so sure that Ulquiorra was all that he seemed. She was almost positive that three quarters of the scheme was not Orihime but Ulquiorra himself and that he was forcing it upon her. She watched as he bent down into a bow as an apology.

"No it's fine! We understand why Hime would be tired. She's had a rough day." Rangiku laughed trying to sound cheerful. Though she knew the truth now she was sure that there was a good purpose behind it, otherwise Orihime might have not bothered to do it in the first place.

"We'll be taking our leave now." Tatsuki spat venomously.

Rangiku nudged her and then turned back to Ulquiorra, "Thank you for inviting us though. It was great to see that Orihime is doing so well."

Tatsuki pushed in, "As I said _we are leaving now_." Her eyes met Rangiku's telling them to get into the car. Rangiku signalled for her to go ahead and she grumpily obliged after Tatsuki got into the car Rangiku turned to Ulquiorra, "Mr Schiffer."

"Yes, Miss Matsumoto?"

Rangiku smiled, "You actually do like Orihime don't you? Even though she doesn't know it herself she likes you too."

Ulquiorra blinked, "That might not necessarily true but it's true that I find her somewhat attractive."

The blond chuckled, "No. She definitely likes you. She has a funny way of showing things but she definitely likes you."

Ulquiorra found himself speechless but he didn't have to say anything because Rangiku was finishing off anyway, "Give Orihime my number so we can talk on the phone or whenever she needs me I'll be there." The blond held out a piece of blue folded paper. Ulquiorra took it and roughly shoved it into his pocket.

"I'll call Ichigo and tell him not to come seeing how Orihime is asleep now."

"Thank you Miss Matsumoto."

"It's no problem. Just make Orihime happy for me…" Rangiku patted his shoulder before turning on her heals as she stepped outside, she shivered as a cool breeze swept across her face and curved past her body. Ulquiorra watched as she clumsily stumbled into the car and waved goodbye as Tatsuki reversed out of the garage. Ulquiorra could see in the blonds blue eyes that she had lots of faith in him, he had a strange feeling inside that what she had said might be true. Did she trust him? Nevertheless it was a question that he'd rather not hear the answer to.

Ulquiorra shut the door behind him and exhaled as he slumped against it.

"Looks like you had it rough." A soft voice said.

"No." Ulquiorra strolled past his mum who had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed in her favourite evening gown that shimmered in the light and dark. Slowly made his way and walked into the kitchen to stand by the counter, "Furthermore… why did you move the wedding date?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well…"

Tina only smiled, "It's for your own good. Granny is also getting pretty excited so it's a good thing."

Ulquiorra shrugged, "I guess you could say that. Mother's know best"

She ruffled his hair, "That's my boy." She leant over to kiss him on the cheek. "Is Ichigo Kurosaki coming over?"

Ulquiorra wiped off the area she kissed him on, "No. There's no point."

"Oh. That's a shame, I was looking forward to getting to know more of Orihime's friends."

He jabbed his mum on the forehead and stared into her emerald eyes that glinted in the light, "I was wondering. How on earth did you get their numbers?"

She laughed and pulled his hand away, "It's called stalking."

"Mum…"the tone in his voice was stern.

"I'm joking sweetie. I have my secrets and you have yours…"

Roughly he dragged a chair out from under the glass table. He sat down and placed his elbow to rest upon the surface whilst his hands ran through his scalp, "I'll find out."

"Good luck in succeeding." She folded her arms across her chest and leant onto the counter, "Orihime's a strange girl."

Ulquiorra looked up from his palms, "You don't like her?"

"It's not that. I find her different, but that's a good thing."

"In what sense?"

Tina held out her palm as if demonstrating something on it, "She's pure and I know she isn't a traitor. I know that she won't break your heart like what _she _did." Tina had to bring that subject up. Her son couldn't always escape it but he had to face it at some point. The memory still burned fresh in her mind; It was a light summer similar to the current date no one could've guessed that something distressful would happen to the Schiffer's but it still did. _Sakura_… the girl who crushed Ulquiorra's heart underneath her foot without much care. If it wasn't for her son being there, Tina would've murdered that girl _years_ ago. Sakura was instantly branded as a traitor, a thief, a greedy monster.

"Why is it that you have to bring _her_ up from my past? I already told granny that I was ready to let go of her."

"I just want to make sure that you know never to pick someone like that ever again." Tina scolded before continuing, "Picking Orihime was the best choices and you love her very much don't you?"

Ulquiorra didn't answer and buried his face back into his palms, "I'm tired. I think I'll join Orihime with her nap." Slowly he got up from his seat and made his way to his own room brushing his hand against the smooth walls of the hallway as he walked past. Just as he was about to enter he stuck his head out to tell his mum, "Besides. I only have three days and a couple of hours to be a single man."

* * *

A/N: Well...What did you think? Good? Bad? Okay? Review's would be much appreciated. Byeeeeeeeeee!


	13. Three days and counting

**A/N: Another late chappy that was meant to be due last night but due to work it wasn't uploaded. It's very random and VERY fast developing. I'll add some hyperlinks to show Orihime's favourite outfit; they'll be at my profile page. There's a lot of this ... to show a different scene so I apologize if you become confused. This was also rushed. Voila! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 13 – Three days and counting**

_**Day one…**_

"You called?"

There was a long pause on the other side of the phone, "_Yeah. Lets meet up tomorrow at Starbucks."_

"Rangiku. We've been through this and I thought that we've established that you are not to call me or talk to me again."

"_Why? You've done nothing wrong."_

Orihime sighed inwardly, "Did you not pay attention to what happened yesterday?"

"_Well yeah."_

"Then why?"

"_It's not a really big deal." _Her voice remained optimistic as usual.

Orihime clicked her tongue and responded, "You've got to be kidding me."

"_No…"_ There was another awkward silence and then a silent plea, _"Please?"_

Orihime had no choice but to agree with Rangiku's suggestion because the poor soul would be calling all day, wasting her phone bills if Orihime hadn't accepted. Secretly she had hoped that her best friends would treat her like they used to, it almost came as a great relief when Rangiku called but there was still Tatsuki who hadn't called… "Okay."

"_Yay! 12 on the dot 'kay?" _

"Okay. I'm going now." It seemed a bit odd to leave it at there. "Ulquiorra is calling me." she lied. Thankfully the blonde didn't question her motives to get away and after a few farewells-until-tomorrow Rangiku finally put down the phone. Orihime listened to the buzzing that followed afterwards and sighed in defeat but kept the phone held towards her ear. After a moment of cursing silently towards herself she too put down the phone and at the same time Hana appeared by the door.

"Carrot top…"

Orihime gave a startled jump nearly tangling her foot in the phone wires, "Hana!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" The old woman desperately placed a finger on her lips and lumbered over to Auburn head. Orihime was still slightly wide eyes at Hana's…eerie appearance. The old woman looked around the room as if making sure nobody was inside with them. The way she observed to room for any movement looked as if the walls had ears and eyes. Once she was fully satisfied they were alone she turned back to Orihime who sat cluelessly on the bed crossed legged and unlike Hana she paid no interest to her room because she was absolutely sure that the old woman was bonkers.

"I'm not meant to be here but I wanted to come and see you."

Orihime smiled widely as she clutched onto her ankles, "Erm…thanks?"

"Well actually I'm here to give you a heads up."

Orihime's smile drooped slightly knowing that what Hana was going to say was going to be bad news, "For what?"

"The date and the place for your honeymoon."

Orihime released her ankles, "You have the information?"

"I stole it off Tina." Hana sniggered mischievously. Orihime rolled her eyes and rolled backwards on her bum so she could flop onto the bed. "You wouldn't believe what Tina booked for you!"

Orihime didn't bother making her one of voice sound interested, "Where?"

Hana leaned in excitedly, "Langkawi Island." Her voice was barely audible but Orihime just about heard it. Upon hearing Langkawi Island Orihime could've sworn she just had an adrenaline rush causing her to bolt upright, "Langkawi?"

Hana nodded.

"In Malaysia?"

Hana nodded again. Orihime gaped, she loved going to Langkawi for two reasons. Sora used to always tell her – when their parents were angry with them - that one day they'd have enough money to run away to a beautiful Island named 'Langkawi'. As a child she always saw stunning images of the small Island and it always helped her keep hope of Sora's words. Secondly it was the place where her parents met each other; she too held the same dreams that she'd meet her true love in the very same place. "W-when am I going?" she stuttered sliding forward on the bed.

"The day after the wedding."

Orihime began gagging slightly, "Excuse me?"

Before the old woman could repeat herself they could hear Tina's slightly angered calling down in the hallways. Hana crept out of Orihime's room quickly, "I have to go." She shut the door leaving Orihime's outstretched arm grasping on nothing but air. Ulquiorra would definitely want to hear about this…

**…**

"Hey Ulquiorra."

"Miss Inoue. Please do not interrupt me whilst I am in the middle of playing an emotional piano piece." Ulquiorra snapped. His fingers were split into a perfect broken chord however he was not pleased with the fingering. "You made me place my third finger with my fourth."

Orihime smirked, "I don't care. I only came here to warn you about something."

Ulquiorra ignored her and began pressing down on several notes each at different times creating something of a lullaby. He then added his left hand and began playing chords on the lower keys to which he wasn't satisfied with. Repositioning his hand he played another chord giving it more of a happier effect, pleased with the results he grabbed a biro and scribbled down a couple of notes on the music sheet.

Orihime groaned in boredom, "Just how long are you going to take?"

"Miss Inoue. Music is all about your emotions, your inner thoughts. I cannot write music if I have you distracting me." He placed the piece of paper and biro down on top of the black piano.

Orihime hadn't discovered this room until she heard someone playing something that sounded like it was created by Mozart, reason one being was that it was aggravatingly fast and second it was classical. When she found out that there was a hidden music room she was almost convinced that Ulquiorra would spend the rest of his days shacked up in the crammed room. She was right. It had been 5 hours straight and Ulquiorra hadn't come out from there so she had decided to attempt to drag him out. For God's sake, the man also hadn't eaten!

Orihime began picking at her nails, "Fine. Just don't ask me why your mum has booked honeymoon tickets to Langkawi Island the day _after_ we get married." She made sure she emphasized the word 'after' in order to get his full attention.

"She what?" Ulquiorra banged on some random piano keys with so much force Orihime could swear she heard the strings inside snap. She cringed slightly that the aftermath of the notes that he played.

"I would tell you again but you said not to distract you and you're…" Orihime twirled her finger in the air whilst trying to think of the right word to finish off her sentence. Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, his finger still on the keys. Orihime smiled and chirped out a short description, "…finger jiggling."

Ulquiorra rose from his seat, "Miss Inoue this is no joke. Why did she do that?"

"What does it matter to you? Besides she's _your_ mum." She made sure her finger jabbed him hard enough on the chest for the message to get through his brain.

He rubbed the sore area and muttered out, "I'm going to kill that woman…" With that he stormed off into the music room unexpectedly. Orihime kept her ears pierced for anything interesting; she knew perfectly well where he was going. To her disappointment there was silence and then after a few moments there was furious snapping that was most definitely Ulquiorra. Orihime winced at imagining what Ulquiorra could have done to his poor mum and then he returned back next to her as fast as he'd disappeared. His face was neutral as usual and showed no signs of his previous activity, Orihime stifled out a laugh.

"I do not understand what is so funny." He said monotonely as he sat back down in front of the piano.

"Just what on earth did you do to your poor mum?"

Ulquiorra answered immediately with a non-so-innocent smile on his face, "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and resumed back to his Piano playing and composing, he shuffled onto his Piano stool slightly and then pressed down on a different chord, "Nothing at all."

_**Day Two…**_

Today God wasn't exactly doing Orihime any favours. As soon as she'd set foot outside the Schiffer Residence she found herself in the midst of people wanting to get a good look at her. She had been hopeful that no one was going to notice her but no such luck was granted. It was almost a strange sensation to know that she had many fans supporting her through the wedding and wishing herself and Ulquiorra a happy marriage, just about a few weeks ago she was a lost person just looking for a stable job, nobody seemed to notice her, she was just somebody unimportant. A few weeks ago she was someone who strongly detested Ulquiorra Schiffer and now she wound up being engaged to him and in a few days be married to him. Orihime pushed her way past the crowd of squealing girls in an attempt to get onto the tubes and so far the task was proving difficult. However, where there were fans there were also…anti-fans. On the whole, Orihime much preferred the attention and constant screaming of fans than the glares of the anti-fans. If looks could kill Orihime would have been killed long ago. Long, long ago.

Zipping open her handbag, Orihime instantly began digging through the piles of rubbish inside in search for her mobile. Using her senses she assumed that her fingers that was currently clasped on something smooth, was the blasted thing. Hastily she attempted to pull out her arm free from the junk that resided within her bag, as she did so bits of paper came flying out. Including the contract with the signed signatures…

**…**

"Rangiku!"

"_Where are you?"_

"…So sorry! I got onto the wrong train…" Orihime panted into the phone. She was so busy talking into the phone her coat almost got caught in-between the barriers. In actuality Orihime had completely forgotten about meeting up with Rangiku. It was a relief that Ulquiorra was being nosy and had looked into her diary planner.

"_You're so unreliable." _The tone in her voice sounded like she was pouting.

Orihime laughed and began rushing out of the underground station, "That's me!" Orihime took an advantage to look at the track ahead of her. Instantly she hurdled over a couple of steps and it wasn't easy seeing as she was wearing quite high heels and a dress. She hadn't bothered to button up her coat and she was already thankful, as she ran the coat was pushed aside and blown back, leaving it flapping across Orihime's arm and letting a cool breeze hit Orihime's boiling skin. Though she had just pulled out some random clothing out of the wardrobe it was her favourite outfit to wear so far. Orihime sighed in relief as the cool breeze encircled her chest and then she opted to speed up faster not caring if she knocked some people over. Right now her top priority was to get over to where Rangiku was.

"_When are you?"_

She made a mental calculation before breathing heavily into the phone, "I'm just round the corner. I'll be there."

"_You have 20 seconds to get here!" _

"Yeah, Yeah!" Orihime snapped her phone shut and roughly stuffed it back into her bag. It wasn't long before she reached the end of the road; hastily she skidded to the right almost dropping her bag when she tried to regain her balance. It wasn't 12 on the dot _yet_. When Rangiku said on the dot, she _meant_ on the dot. Once Orihime had been exactly 20 seconds late for a day in the park with Rangiku. The blonde was furious and…well after that Orihime preferred not to arrange anymore outings. Not wanting to repeat the mistake she carelessly made years ago Orihime ran for her life making another mental calculation as she did so. There was only 10 seconds to get to Starbucks and it looked like it would take just around 10 seconds to get there. Gathering up all the energy Orihime continued to run like mad, she almost crashed against the door in an attempt to stop. Barging into Starbucks wasn't exactly the best way to enter the scene but it had caught Rangiku's attention. The blond was casually sitting or lying back on a sofa holding a cup of caramel frappuccino sprinkled messily with chocolate bits on top. The clothes she was wearing suggested that this wasn't just a normal day and before Orihime could run out the door to try and escape after figuring out Rangiku's true intention, she had called out her name. Orihime decided whether to ignore or to stay but before her mind was even made up she felt a hand upon her shoulder. Turning around she quickly plastered a smile on her face… _Boy is this gonna be a long day…_

**…**

"Rangiku. I don't think it's a good idea to drink anymore."

"Iss awight. I 'ave you." Bits of the sentences were slurred but Orihime could make out what she was saying. Rangiku was drunk out of her mind and Orihime blamed herself for not being able to control her best friend. Back when she was younger it was always the other way round, Orihime would be the one who'd be drunk – only because she was pressured to drink – and Rangiku would be the half sober one. Orihime placed Rangiku's arm around her shoulder to a least try and prevent the blonde from stumbling as they walked along the streets. Orihime had to admit that Rangiku was heavy but at least most of her weight wasn't placed onto Orihime making it slightly easier to walk. This time Orihime had chosen not to drink at all and she was glad for it but she couldn't exactly blame Rangiku for drinking lots. She'd had it rough.

As soon as they walked out from Starbucks Rangiku had poured her whole heart into telling Orihime what had happened after she left. As far as Orihime could remember it was to do with some dude her best friend had met. The two of them were officially dating but then one day he just disappeared without a trace. It wasn't till after Rangiku was slightly tipsier than usual that Rangiku added more detail. He was her childhood friend that she hadn't seen in years. Orihime could tell that Rangiku was madly in love with the jerk.

"Rangiku get a hold of yourself!"

"Iss awight. I 'ave you…" She repeated again a little quieter, lowering her head. Her blonde hair fell from her shoulders and shielded her face like curtains. It didn't sound like she was talking to Orihime, it sounded as if she was talking to someone she knew for a long time. "…Gin…"

Orihime could somehow feel like she was connected to this 'Gin' in some way. Whether it was a short meeting or a long one it didn't matter. Right now her priority was to get Rangiku back to her hotel. Which was where?

"Rangiku. Where are you staying?"

"I wanna see him." She giggled.

Orihime cringed her face at the stench of alcohol, "Rangiku. What are you babbling on about?" There was no answer that left her parted lips. Orihime jumped up to straighten her now hunched back. Rangiku leaned against Orihime putting on more weight onto the struggling female. She smiled drowsily. Desperately Orihime looked around for an alternative hotel, there were none. However there was the same pub she went to the night she was rescued by Ulquiorra.

"Rangiku. I'm going to let you rest in tha pub until you're sober enough to go back to your hotel."

The blonde threw both arms around Orihime, "You're da best." She hiccupped slightly and smiled again.

Orihime stared at the blonde's very pink cheeks and lifted a hand to slap them gently in a playful way, "Get a hold of yourself!" She hoisted Rangiku up by the waist and dragged her wasted best friend to the pub. Luckily the lights were on. Since her hands weren't free she stopped in front of the door and then lifted her foot to kick it open. The smell of more alcohol filled her nostrils but surprisingly the rich looking bar was empty and was only filled with the illuminated seats and neon lights that hung above the ceiling.

"Can I help?"

Orihime snapped her head to the left. There stood a man with silver hair all over his forehead and unusually scary grin and thin slit eyes. Orihime recalled seeing that same face before, in a dream?

"Oh. Ya tha lady who came here just around a coupla days ago."

Orihime could feel Rangiku slipping from her grip and hoisted her friend up again, "Do I know you?"

"Ya were drunken outta ya mind."

Orihime recalled the man's face showing concern and then the rest of her memory came flooding back, "Ah yes! The bar tenant."

He grinned again and looked down at Rangiku whose head was buried in the crook of Orihime's neck; her hair was all over the place making her look like a mop. The man grinned wider, "Looks like ya need some help."

Orihime clutched tighter onto Rangiku in fear that the man would try something dodgy on her best friend. He noticed how Orihime was slightly anxious and assured her that he wasn't a rapist or stalker, "Iss' alright. I only wanna help tha poor soul."

"Is there a couch I can lay her down on?"

The man held out his hand to where there was a brown leather sofa. Orihime slowly began making her way towards it but tripped slightly due to Rangiku's heavy weight. The man held her by her arms to prevent her from falling, "Careful. Ya don' wanna fall on ya face with this lady here."

Orihime shifted away from him slightly, "Thanks." Slowly she lowered Rangiku onto the sofa and dropped her bag beside the chair. The blond whined. Orihime bent down beside her drunken friend and brushed her best friend's hair aside revealing her full mature face. The bar tenant's smile dropped.

"Rangiku. I'm gonna leave you here. I have to go home." Orihime hushed. No answer came from the woman on the couch. Her eyes were closed. Orihime figured she must have finally fallen asleep after all the alcohol. She turned to the man who was now frowning, "Can she stay here for the night?"

He was hesitant to answer but then replied, "Yeah. Wass her name?"

Orihime was reluctant to answer back and then he added more detail, "I need to know her name so I can try and find out which hotel she's staying at."

"Rangiku Matsumoto."

His face instantly saddened upon hearing her name, "I see…"

"Is anything the matter?"

He grinned again, "Nothin' at all. Ya can leave ya friend here. She'll be safe."

"Can I have your name so I can thank you later?" Orihime was in a hurry to get home. If Ulquiorra found out that she wasn't careful out in the streets he'd fucking murder her. But one thing she absolutely hated was to be in debt.

"Gin Ichimaru."

The hairs on Orihime's neck stood on an end. _Gin Ichimaru_. _Gin… _wasn't that the name Rangiku had mentioned in her drunken stupor? Gin wasn't exactly a common name around in Japan let alone America. There was a small possibility that Rangiku's Gin wasn't this one. But was she willing to risk it?

Her mobile began frantically ringing distracting her from her thoughts. Before she picked up she read who was calling. Inevitably it was Ulquiorra. "Mr Ichimaru. I'm going to have to go. Please take care of my friend and I'll pay you for the needs that she required tomorrow." Orihime scampered around the bar picking up her bag and swinging it effortlessly on the shoulder.

He lifted his hand to prevent her from leaving, "Miss Inoue!"

"I'm very sorry. My fiancé is calling… I have to go." Orihime bowed and bolted straight out the door before Gin could say anything more. As she left she felt an uneasy feeling about the man Gin Ichimaru. He left a spine chilling sensation. He wasn't an ordinary person and she couldn't help but feel that Rangiku was in serious shit.

_**Day Three – The last day…**_

"Orihime! The dress was finished. It's in your bedroom." Tina's face showed something along the lines of pure happiness. It would be a shame to disappoint her now of all times. Orihime could tell that she was one happy mum and that she was very excited about the event that would take place tomorrow.

"Do you want me to try it on?"

Tina shook her head and shut her eyelids, "No. I want you to save it for tomorrow. You can take a peek at it though. "

Orihime nodded, "I'll do that after I finish folding Ulquiorra's clothes." It wasn't that she wanted to fold his clothes but she felt slightly guilty when she came home late yesterday. His face was paler than usual as if he was worried out of his mind. Orihime wanted to do something for him to make him feel better and she didn't know why. Tina thought that Orihime was just being a responsible house wife.

"Just make sure Ulquiorra doesn't peek." She whispered.

Orihime blinked and ran the iron through one Ulquiorra's crinkled white shirt letting the steam hiss slightly, "Why?"

"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride's wedding dress."

Orihime smiled and placed the iron down, "Old wives tales."

"You don't believe in them?" Tina mused as Orihime flipped the shirt over onto its creased side.

Orihime picked up the iron again and slid it across the sleeves of the shirt, "It's not that I don't believe them. They're just something I regard as being too cautious."

"Interesting point. Granny would've never pulled of that answer." Tina laughed. Orihime couldn't help but laugh along with her.

Orihime then began to wonder where the old woman was, "Where is Hana anyway?"

Tina thought for a moment, "I think she went with Ulquiorra to get your ring polished off for tomorrow."

"Ring?"

Tina frowned in suspicion at Orihime's reaction, "Why the shock?"

Orihime laughed nervously and put the iron down. "I just burnt myself on the iron." She lied. Tina didn't look so convinced, Orihime quickly began rubbing her hands to make it seem like they were in pain. "I'm going to get some ice." She walked slowly out of the door and then once she was out she made a bolt for it to the kitchen. She swooped up the house phone and fumbled to dial Ulquiorra's mobile number. Orihime almost slapped herself with the phone as she listened to the ringing and then his deep voice came into the voice, "Hello?"

"Oi! "

"_Miss Inoue. Why on earth are you yelling?"_

"Who said anything about a ring?" She wasn't angry. Just a little shocked. She hadn't made a deal with Ulquiorra that they should get a ring, worse yet she hadn't actually seen the damn thing. What would she do at the wedding if it was some fat diamond that weighed her hand down? The astonishment that would appear on her face would make it seem like she actually had never seen it in her life and Orihime couldn't fake non-astonishment. What if it didn't fit? And shouldn't she get a choice to pick the ring?

"_I told you this morning whilst you were rolling around in my blankets."_

"But why didn't you tell me to wake up?"

"_You looked…tired. Why would I wake you up?"_

"Isn't it common courtesy that I get to chose the ring?" She muttered sarcastically. "It doesn't matter anymore anyway."

"_What are you doing later?" _He asked out of the blue. It sounded like he was asking her for a date.

Before Orihime could answer Tina began calling her, "Shit!" She slammed the phone back down onto the charger and bolted for the freezer. Tina entered the living room just as Orihime got the ice out of the fridge.

"Ah. I forgot to tell you, I'm going out to the music studio today."

Orihime winced at the cold icepack on her hand, "Yeah sure."

Tina picked up her bag from the sofa and threw on a random coat from the peg, "You sure you'll be okay in the house alone?"

Orihime nodded biting her lip to keep from letting a groan of pain escape her lips. The ice pack was fucking freezing her hands off. By the time Tina left Orihime swore that her hand was about to drop off. Where was she in the conversation with Ulquiorra? _Oh yeah…something about what I'm doing later._

**…**

"Why did you slam the phone down?"

"Your mum was coming. I was supposed to be getting ice for my hand."

Ulquiorra stood up from his seat and leaned over the table. "Why? Did you hurt yourself? What happened?" He demanded.

Orihime push against the chair leaning as far away from him as possible, "Why start worrying now? Beside's you know me. I lied."

Ulquiorra sat back down and exhaled as if he were relieved, "Who said anything about being worried?"

Orihime kept herself pressed against the chair, "You body language." She wasn't sure that Ulquiorra was being himself today. He seemed weird. It seemed odd when he called her asking her out for lunch at a private restaurant. He was also unusually…protective over her. "Ulquiorra are you okay?"

He looked from his plate, "Yes." Again he twirled his spaghetti around his fork but made no attempt to eat it.

Orihime frowned, "Was there a reason to why you called me here?"

He coughed slightly and grabbed a glass of water gulping it down rather desperately. Orihime wrinkled her nose at his actions. It was scaring her. He put the glass down and looked up, "I want to extend the contract to a year."

"A year?" Orihime scoffed. He turned his head away. Orihime slammed both hands onto the table and stood up, "Are you kidding me? Why do you want to do that?"

"I just want to." He lied.

"No. That isn't the reason." She walked around the table and leant face to face with him, "There's something more isn't there?"

"No." He tilted his head closer to hers, "Unless you want something more?"

Orihime backed away, "No." She blushed but didn't know exactly why. "But I still don't want to extend the contract." She added a little more confidently

"But _I want_ to."

Orihime folded her arms, "Alright then. I'll accept it…"

"Really?"

"…IF you beat me in a contest."

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, "What kind of contest?"

"Skiing."

Ulquiorra laughed, "Miss Inoue. Have you ever been skiing before? Or is this just some crafty trick to get me to take you on holiday in the Alps?"

"Both."

Ulquiorra sat back on his seat and crossed his arms, "Alright. We'll go after we come back from Langkawi."

Orihime sat back on her seat satisfied with a smug look on her face, "Anything else?"

Ulquiorra smirked and then called out to the waiter, "Bill please!"

**…**

"SURPRISE!"

Orihime almost fell over at the chorus of voices that just suddenly yelled out in sync, "What the muffins!" She looked at the different faces of her closest friends. Literally everyone was in her house right now. Nel, Rangiku, Rukia and even Tatsuki. "What are you all doing here?"

"We're having a mini stag party in your house before you get married." Rangiku giggled. Orihime had so many questions to ask. Not just for Rangiku but for everyone. What happened to Rangiku on the night she was drunk and alone with Gin? Why was Rukia here? Had Tatsuki already forgiven her? Did everyone know about the contract? She felt like her brain was going to explode from all the questions that went on through her head.

"Hello again Hime!" Nel chimed. "It's been a while but your fiancé said I could come round and help you with wedding stuff."

"Nel. I barely know you. We met only once."

"But it feels like I've known you a whole lifetime! Beside's I'm on good terms with Ulquiorra."

Orihime turned to Rukia and asked her bitterly, "And what're you doing here?"

The short woman only smiled, "I did say that I wasn't finished with you. Anyway it was your mum-in-law who called us up to come over."

"Tina?"

"That's the one."

Orihime's jaw dropped. When did Tina have enough time to arrange this?

"The big boys came over too!"

"What boys?" Orihime yelled in disbelief.

"Grimmjow, Stark, Zommari, Szayel, Yammy." Nel began as she counted them off her fingers.

Orihime scrunched up her face in confusion, "Who are these people? The only one I know is Grimmjow!"

Rangiku laughed, "No. They're Ulquiorra's friends."

Tatsuki who had been standing in the corner finally spoke up, "Some of our friends came too."

"Who?"

"Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Renji and so on." Rukia drabbled.

"Why are they here?"

"Stag night with your fiancé."

"But he doesn't know them!" Orihime spluttered. They were _her_ friends not Ulquiorra's so why were they here?

Tatsuki spoke again, "Actually it turns out that Ichigo knows Grimmjow. Around an hour ago they were just getting to know each other."

Just as they were speaking of the boys all of them suddenly burst into Orihime's room nearly locking over her door in the process. In the front Grimmjow was holding Ulquiorra captive with a smirk on his face, "Yo! sis-in-law!" He raised an arm up for a greeting.

"Grimmjow! What the fuck are you doing to Ulquiorra?" Orihime ran over to pry Grimmjow's arm off Ulquiorra's neck. It was true what Rukia had said. Behind Grimmjow and the other people she could see her own friends standing in the hallway in awe.

"Don' need ta worry. I won' kill him. I just wanna borrow him for the night for a stag but he wouldn't agree to it. We just need your permission-"

"Do what you want but just don't kill him!" Orihime joked patting Grimmjow on his muscular arms. Ulquiorra glared at her for not helping him get out of the situation. She stuck out her tongue and laughed.

"Alright men. Les' go!" Grimmjow barked like he was controlling an army or navy. "We'll all get to meet the beautiful bride tomorrow!" All of them nodded. They all bowed slightly to show their respects and turned to leave shuffling off one by one. Orihime's friends remained by the doorway taking in her appearance. Neither of them said anything because they could sense a strange tension between Orihime and Ichigo. It wasn't a good vibe.

Ichigo flickered his eyes to Orihime's and then he softly spoke, "I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded slowly and tilted her head to the side so she could see the rest of her friends, "It's good to see you guys. We'll talk tomorrow."

They all nodded in return and ran after Grimmjow, Ichigo was the last to leave Orihime's room and as he left his eyes remained glued onto hers. It looked like he knew a secret that everybody else didn't…

It was a while before the hallway returned to its normal state. Pure serenity. Orihime shut her door and turned to her female friends. Who were all sitting on her bed staring at her like she was prey.

Rangiku – being the main party animal - grinned and shouted out, "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

A/N: I promised the hyperlinks for Orihime's fav outfit but you don't get to see Hime's dress until the next chapter! Review!


	14. The Big Day

**A/N: Hey there people! You have no idea to how much fun I went through searching for the perfect dress for Orihime and for the other people. This is only part 1 of the wedding. I hope you enjoy and the wedding dress is on my profile page (ignore the model who models the dress!) including the ring aswell. Also when you read the wedding part I suggest you go on my profile page and click on a hyperlink under the title 'Stay with me playist'. I'm gonna put up music recommendations for some chapter's. This chapter music recommendation is Korean but there's an english version too. The story line for this song is saddening but I can say that it is an EPIC song and it fits the chapter perfectly!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 14 – The Big Day**

The sun was shining, the skies were blue. The bird twittered to each other in a language of melodies. The green hills were welcoming and the whole world knew that it was a perfect day for a wedding.

Just a few weeks ago Orihime Inoue was looking for jobs that paid well and now she was marrying the most famous celebrity in America. It was no joke. Today was the 'Big Day' and it still hadn't sunk into her mind that she was getting married. What would happen next? A baby?

"Orihime. Sit still. I can't put on the tiara." Rangiku snapped.

Orihime bit her lip "I'm sorry. It's the nerves." It was probably perfectly natural to be nervous. After all Orihime was getting married within 2 hours and she was only 21. Twenty one was a very young age to be getting married, it was the age where women were free and allowed to make fun of their youth. Unfortunately Orihime was never able to experience this and had to mature faster than others. Right now the only thing running through her mind was her conscience telling her that she was insane. It was a shame that Tatsuki wasn't there to punch her back down to reality and it was even more disappointing that most of her other friends hadn't popped by to wish her luck.

"Finally sinking in huh?" Rangiku chuckled.

Orihime hit her best friends leg playfully, "It's not funny. I'm scared to shit."

"I admit. I would be scared too. That's why I'm helping you." Rangiku carefully nuzzled the Tiara on top of Orihime's head. It fitted perfectly and it held Orihime's veil securely. "Tina sure spent a fortune on you." Rangiku mused as she stroked the large diamond that stood proudly in the centre.

"I did tell her it was alright if I didn't have a wedding but she _insisted_ that I have one." Orihime twiddled her thumbs together whilst rocking on her chair back and forth ever so slightly. "Now I'm kinda wishing that I should have been a little stronger and said no."

"Don't get cold feet now? You can't leave Ulquiorra standing at the altar."

Orihime looked up to her best friends' sincere face, "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that _he'll_ leave _me_ at the altar."

"Oh come on now. You're thinking nonsense."

Orihime began making stupid guesses, "You're thinking it too aren't you?"

Rangiku was slightly offended at Orihime's remark, "Of course not." Rangiku looked at Orihime's expression and it looked like she wasn't convinced. A change of subject would be nice, "You're all ready to go to the church."

"No makeup?" Orihime asked looking up innocently.

"Nah. We're going to keep your face pure. Ulquiorra is bound to fall in love with you for real."

"Rangiku! Shhhhhhhh! Nobody knows this is a fake and why the fuck would I want the jerk to like me?" Orihime hissed.

"Because you loooooooove him." Rangiku teased.

"I do not!" Orihime replied indignantly. She blushed at Rangiku's deduction that was supposedly 'not true'.

"This morning you were complaining about you face. Nel said she heard you talking to yourself saying things like 'what if he doesn't like it?' and 'what if he thinks I'm a slut?', is that what you call not loving him? Any girl would care about their appearance if they were in love and highly doubt that you're vain enough just to care about you're appearance because you want to. "

"Rangiku! Just help me out here. For once I'm actually, genuinely scared!" Orihime begged.

Rangiku held up her hands, "I'm helping, I'm helping! God…Where is Nel?" Two reasons for needing Nel. One – To help calm the stressed out bride and Two – So she could put on her bridesmaid dress on.

"I'm here!" The green haired girl called out from the hallway. Her footsteps were loud, allowing Rangiku to distinguish how far she was from Orihime's room and soon enough Nel appeared by the doorway holding a clump of white silk, "I'm sorry I was late. It took a while to get the reserved dresses out of the shop." Then her eyes casually wondered over to Orihime who sat by a table in her wedding gown. Orihime looked up with an innocent face and smiled nervously. For a moment Nel could only gape and then she gave a scream of joy that shocked both Rangiku and Orihime. Dumping the dresses onto the bed, Nel sprinted up to Orihime and pulled her in for the tightest rib breaking hug anyone could ever experience.

"Nel! I'm kinda choking here!" Orihime coughed out.

Nel ignored her and refused to let go, instead she tightened her arm making it extremely difficult for Orihime to breathe, "You are so pretty Orihime!"

Rangiku placed a hand on Nel's shoulder, "Um…Nel. I think we ought to divert away from having a bruised bride."

Instantly Nel released Orihime in fear that the bride was injured. Orihime let out a choke of much needed air and flapped her hand around until they caught the table for balance. Rangiku snuck into the bathroom whilst no one was paying attention with one of the dresses that Nel had dumped onto the bed and closed the door behind her quietly as to not disturb her best friends.

Nel placed her hands over her mouth, "Did I hurt you?"

Orihime waved her hand as if it didn't matter. "No…It's fine." She wheezed out clutching her waist as if assuring they were okay.

"Can you stand?" Nel stepped forward in case Orihime needed help.

Orihime kept one hand on her waist and raised the other to stop Nel from coming any closer, "Nel that's just pushing it too far. I'm okay. Honestly."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I get carried away a lot." She said sadly. Innocently she tapped her fingers together in a repeated action.

Orihime rolled her eyes, "Nel. I knew that ages ago and I honestly think it's sweet that you do."

The baby voiced woman's faced brightened, "Really?"

Orihime snorted, "What would I say? No? As if…"

Again Nel leaped onto Orihime for a hug; in the nick of time Orihime had managed to catch the atrociously playful girl arm length away. "But Nel. I'd appreciate if you stop with the hugs."

Nel backed away with a smile on her face, "I understand."

Orihime looked around the room and realised Rangiku was gone, "Where's Rangiku?"

Nel looked around cluelessly and stuck her bottom lip out, "I don't know."

Orihime walked out into the hallway letting the train of her wedding dress drag along gracefully on the floor, lifting her hands and placing them by her lip she called out her best friend's name, "Rangiku!"

"I'm in here."

Orihime turned around back into her bedroom. There stood the tall blond in a white gown that hugged her curves beautifully. Rangiku stepped out of the bathroom, "Well? Is it good?"

Nel Squealed with delight clapping her hands to show her appreciation. Orihime felt like she could cry, "I look ugly compared to you."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're the prettiest bride I've ever seen!"

Orihime began panicking again, "Aah shit! I really want some tonic or alcohol!"

"Ah! Tina told me to give this to you when you get nervous." Rangiku waddled to her handbag that lay on the bed. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a small bottle containing a clear liquid. She handed it to Orihime who looked at it suspiciously.

Orihime searched the bottle for a label but there was none. She held it up in the light to see if there was something inside it, "Rangiku. What the fuck is this?"

"Vodka."

Orihime unscrewed the lid and held it under her nose to sniff the contents. It smelt strong. Very strong.

"You can drink it. It'll help calm you down."

"I'm not sure…" Orihime groaned.

"It's okay. I'll drink half if you want."

"No." Orihime held onto the bottle tightly. She stared at it for a while and brought it to her mouth before throwing her head and the bottle back. Instantly she swallowed and shivered as she felt the alcohol running down her throat. To her surprise it wasn't as strong as she assumed it was.

"How is it?

Orihime licked her lips and smiled broadly, "It tastes good."

"I should have got some off Tina for myself." Rangiku mumbled regrettably.

Nel interrupted the two, "Well. Now that's sorted shall we get ready for the wedding?"

**…**

"Grimmjow. Spare me the mercy and shoot me."

The tall man chuckled, "Yer really that nervous?"

"Half the time I really don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"I don't either." He mumbled.

Ulquiorra turned to the mirror on his left and buttoned up his morning coat tuxedo. "Grimmjow. Tell me…are you happy for me?" he asked without turning around.

Grimmjow grinned, "Ya kidding right?"

"No."

The blunette's smile faded slightly. He strolled to the window and sat down on the window seal with his arms folded across his chest. He kept his eyes low on the floor, "Knowing ya, yer'd want the truth right?"

Ulquiorra tugged at his tux slightly and turned to view the side of his coat, "Affirmative."

Grimmjow chuckled and place both hands on the edge of the widow seal, "I'm actually jealous."

Ulquiorra snapped his head round, "Jealous?"

The tall man looked up at Ulquiorra who stood in shock. He grinned, "Orihime's buff… buts that's only one out of several reasons to why I like her."

"You like her?" Ulquiorra choked out.

"Funny init? We have similar tastes in women."

Ulquiorra stared at Grimmjow unable to comprehend his best friend's words. It was happening all over again and _that_ couldn't happen again, "Not again."

"The last time this happened it ended up in shit. I guess yer beat me to it again." Grimmjow mumbled sadly.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Grimmjow shrugged, "I guess yer the better man when it comes to women."

"That doesn't answer my question. You know well not to repeat you mistake's. If you wanted her so bad why didn't you stop her from going with me?"

"I don't know. Then I guess it means I'm a coward."

Ulquiorra sat down on the chair in the far corner of the room. For a moment they both sat in silence. Neither one looking at each other. Ulquiorra ran his hand through his hair and sighed, it was time he confessed something, "Actually. Sakura never loved me anyway."

Grimmjow looked up from the ground. He most certainly wasn't expecting those words to be coming out from the emo's mouth, "What d'ya mean?"

Ulquiorra exhaled deciding to go all out, "In her eyes I could see that she loved you. But I couldn't bring myself to let her go. I'm the coward." He clasped his fingers together and leant forward slightly.

Grimmjow gaped at him speechless for a moment, "Dude. You chose _now_ to tell me?"

"I thought the moment was…fitting."

The blunette pushed himself off from the window seal, sure…he was angry but not for the reasons he had expected, "Well I'm just going to let yer know that I'm not giving up on Orihime."

Ulquiorra frowned in confusion, "In case you haven't noticed. I'm getting married to her in under two hours." He tapped his watch.

"I know. I'm gonna find a way to break you two up and this isn't revenge for claiming Sakura."

"Then what is the purpose for this ridiculous speech?"

"I'm fed up of getting' ma ass kicked by yer sad ego. For once I'm gonna win this."

Ulquiorra stood up from his chair and cocked his head to the side. Most likely analyzing Grimmjow carefully and then he stepped back in front of the mirror not turning around as he spoke, "Fine. Since you're suggesting a competition…Bring it on. In the end Orihime is still going to choose to stay by me."

Grimmjow grinned, "All fired up are we?"

"I always am. Besides, Orihime is rightfully mine and I deserve her because I got to her first."

"We'll see about that. I'm gonna laugh when she walks away from you."

"And I'm going to throw a celebration party if she stays by my side as my wife." Ulquiorra turned around to look at Grimmjow. "Tell no one of this conversation."

Grimmjow's face was solemn. Instead of his usual smirk he had a serious face on which was extremely rare for people to see, "Scared are ya? It don't matter anyway. I'm gonna forget this conversation. But remember this yer jerk…I will have Orihime." He straightened his back tucking his hand in his pocket and he resumed back to his usual smug look on his face. "Shall we go now?"

**…**

"No, no. Put the flower's near the entrance where people can see them. I want the audience to be amazed by their pureness." Tina snapped at a wedding designer carrying a large bouquet of white, peach and cream coloured roses tied up in a sky blue ribbon.

"Understood Mrs Schiffer." The wedding designer stuttered. She scurried off outside the church.

Tina walked around the whole area of the church inspecting every single detail and yelling at the wedding designer's. Everything had to be _perfect_. By definition of perfect, it meant no flaws nor mistakes, no slipups or accidents. She stopped at the altar. Her emerald eyes narrowed down onto the golden challis that stood at the altar, it had a blurred fingerprint smudge on it. "There's a fingerprint on the golden challis." she announced. The wedding decorators all looked up from whatever they were doing paying full attention to the strict mother. Her beady eyes looked left to right trying to single out the culprit who set up the altar, "Who set this table up?"

Everyone lowered their heads trying not to get picked out. They all knew about Tina's genuine reaction when she was angry and nobody wanted to be in that position.

"Well? Is anybody going to give me a straight answer?" Her voice was stern. She placed a hand on the altar, "I'm waiting."

Finally someone stepped up. A young girl barely the age of 18 stepped up, "It was me." Upon admitting the news she lowered her head even more and begged in her mind that Tina would spare her.

Tina gave her a cold hard look which then softened, "I'll let you off the hook because I know you're new to this job."

The shy girl snapped her head up. She'd been spared. Her small shiny eyes widened in surprise. Tina smiled for a short while at the young teen in front of her and then returned to her stoic look, "From now on. I want this church to look flawless."

The wedding designer's bowed and resumed back to their work in decorating the church area. In perfect timing Hana appeared by the church entrance inspecting the fine details of the flowers and ribbons. She wore a sky blue dress and a slightly darker blue jacket over the dress. On her neck hung several pearls neatly aligned together and her hair was tied up in a tight bun pinned back by a diamond hair pin. Balancing slightly lopsided on the top of her head was a white hat with a simple ribbon around it.

"Mother."

The old woman looked up from inspecting a bunch of light blue tinted roses, "Ah. Tina You've done a marvellous job with the church but how about the dinner venue?"

"I've sorted that out. The ice sculptures have just been finished and they're transporting them."

Hana chuckled, "You're a very reliable daughter." Hana patted her heart and boasted, "Inherited from me of course."

Tina hit her mum's arm playfully, "Stop being so modest."

"I think Orihime's going to inherit that Schiffer gene too."

"You think?"

"She's independent enough as it is. She'll make a fine bride when she walks down this aisle in two hours."

Tina admired the view of the church from the entrance and imagined the row of empty seats full of people. She could picture Orihime gazing into Ulquiorra's eyes and him gazing back like star-crossed lovers and stating 'I do', "I have a good feeling about this."

"Me too."

There was a loud shatter that interrupted Tina and Hana's fantasies. Several wedding designer's gasped and turned their heads in the direction to the source of sound. It turned out someone had dropped a clay pot sprayed in gold. Tina stormed over to the scene of the incident and began snapping at the person who had dropped the pot. Hana watched as her daughter yelled at the poor woman who looked down at the ground in guilt. Instantly the woman began picking up the broken shards whilst coping with Tina's constant ear deafening yelling and then when she was done she scurried away.

Hana chuckled when her daughter returned by her side with an exhausted expression on her face, "Wedding planning is difficult."

"You think? You're wedding was far more elaborate, think about what that was like for me!"

"True… At least I had Orihime's friends helping out. They're so kind, it's a shame that most of them had things to do rather than help Orihime." Tina threw an arm over her shoulder and began thumping it gently like a massage. It was an aggravatingly tiring day so far.

"They did say they'll be able to make it for the exchanging of vows and they said they could stay for the dinner reception."

"Glad to hear that. I'll leave you to take charge of this lot because I need to change now."

Hana saluted, "Under you're command."

"Thanks mum." Tina ran her hand along the wooden seats as she waltzed out gracefully out the door. She almost bumped into a worker carrying another golden pot to replace the other smashed one. She almost dropped it from the shock of Tina's appearance in front of her. Luckily the gloves she was wearing had extra grip on them allowing her to easily regain her hold on the pot.

Tina obviously wasn't happy with the way the wedding designers were working. "Do your work properly and professionally!" she snapped. The worker bowed to show she understood and hurried inside to avoid anymore yelling from the witch woman. Tina watched as the woman scurried away and then focused her vision on her mum who only sniggered harder at her daughter's glare.

"Honestly. I don't know what I pay these people for…"

**…**

It had been a good start so far. The workers had managed to get the church decorated perfectly and on time. By the time they left, the invited people had already started coming in. Hana was there to guide them to their seats and by the time Tina returned already three quarters of the seats in the church had been filled up with all sorts of aristocratic and royal families from all over the world. Tina could barely see amongst the millions of jewels and hats that invaded the once plain brown seats.

Ulquiorra's arrival was what brought the most people over. He had been trailed by the paparazzi and several fans which made up at least 40% of the people who gathered outside the church. Even though his location was kept a secret they still had found out and managed to get a hold of some private information. Fans sure were scary.

Within 30 minutes Ulquiorra found himself talking to one of the royal families from Malaysia and then the next he stood at the front of the aisle in his white wedding clothes. The church bells were erotically ringing out for the whole world to know of the glorious occasion and the invited guests were waiting inside for the bride's arrival.

It'd been 15 minutes since Orihime was meant to arrive but she hadn't and Ulquiorra wondered if she was getting cold feet because he was getting cold feet already. Grimmjow, the best man, approached the groom from the front row seats of the church, "Dude. Where is she?"

"How should I know?" Ulquiorra hissed and then he swallowed a melon sized clump of air.

Grimmjow noticed the emo's reaction and chuckled, "Nervous again are we?" Though they had the secret conversation about their dirty little secrets it didn't seem to affect their friendship in any unusual way. Ulquiorra was actually glad that it didn't because right now he needed a friend to be there for him.

"I think I'm going crazy."

Grimmjow sighed, "You must be. You said you'd never marry and now you're marrying this crazy girl."

"I don't think I can go through with this, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra muttered. His stomach tightened its knot giving him a very sick feeling. "Fuck…"

Grimmjow reached into his tux and pulled out a small bottle from his inside pocket, "Here drink this. It'll calm your nerves. I guess you feel a lot shittier now that you've learnt to swear."

Ulquiorra stared at the small bottle for a moment and asked curiously, "Is that alcohol?"

"Duuuuuhhhh…"

"What brand name?"

"Vodka."

"Give it to me." Ulquiorra demanded as he snatched it out of Grimmjow's hand and held it tightly in his fist. Grimmjow smirked when he saw Ulquiorra unscrewing the lid and lifting it up to his nose to sniff it. Ulquiorra recoiled at the strong and bitter smell.

Grimmjow chuckled, "It's just booze. I'm not going to poison you."

"I know. I just want to see how strong it is because I'd rather not get drunk." Ulquiorra stared at the bottle a little more and then brought it to his mouth before taking a quick swig of it. He swallowed and screwed up his face at the bitter unpleasant taste which made him gag slightly.

"How d'you feel?" Grimmjow smirked.

Ulquiorra handed the bottle back to his best man who took it with a grin on his face a usual. Ulquiorra wiped the edge of his lips with his handkerchief that he always kept in his pocket for emergencies slowly he answered, "The alcohol hasn't kicked in yet but I can feel a little bit of a calming effect."

"Good." Grimmjow grinned with satisfaction and then caught sight of Tina making her way towards them. "Shit, ya old ma is coming over. I think she saw us." Grimmjow hurried back to his seat bowing slightly as he crossed paths with Ulquiorra's mum. He sat back down almost too quickly and nearly fell off. Tina glanced at the red rose pinned onto his tux, he noticed her dissatisfied look an began perfecting the rose a little more. She smiled when he was done and turned back to Ulquiorra.

"Mum."

Tina smiled at her son and then looked at the church entrance. A worried expression flickered across her face, "Ulquiorra. Where is Orihime? She's 15 minutes late. Maybe there's traffic…"

"You don't think she walked out on me do you?"

Tina frowned, "Honey, I don't think Orihime is that kind of person. She's a sweet girl; I can't believe you're thinking of such things!"

"I'm sorry, I'm just…nervous." It was unusual for him to admit such things. The wedding was making him crazy.

Ulquiorra's mum laughed, "That's how your dad felt when it was our wedding day." She patted her son's back reassuringly, "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Ulquiorra reined his mum in for a hug and rested his chin onto her shoulder. "Thanks mum." He said quietly.

She smiled, "Mums always know best." She pulled herself away and held Ulquiorra at arm length away so she could admire how mature he'd gotten, "I'm so proud of you. Your father would have been too, I'm sure he would have liked Orihime and treat her like his own daughter."

"I think so too."

Suddenly, the church doors swung open revealing a young youthful girl standing under the entrance. The guests all gasped at the very sight. Orihime Inoue stood by the door dressed up in a white shiny silk strapless dress. It was simple and it hugged her curves neatly before expanding as it reached the ground. Orihime's bright orange hair tied up into a bun and some strands were pinned up so that several strands of curls cascaded down her neck. On the top of her head sat a diamond tiara which held a silk veil that covered her innocent face and also ran down along her back. On her hand she wore white elbow length silk gloves and she held a bunch of simple white roses so pure they emitted an angel like glow which seemed to outline Orihime even more. Everyone was taken aback by Orihime's appearance and then they began whispering to each other. Ulquiorra stood frozen at the altar and tried to intake Orihime's surprising entrance.

_She's beautiful…_He swallowed hard and continued to stare at the now blushing bride. Tina smiled widely and announced loudly and proudly to everyone inside, "The wedding shall now begin!"

Orihime stepped onto the red carpet that trailed all the way down to the altar and began walking slowly down the aisle as the music began playing. Just then Nel and Rangiku appeared behind her in white dresses that differed a lot from Orihime's dress; they were in dresses that thinned around the leg area making it harder for them to walk as gracefully as Orihime but at the same moment they too looked beautiful.

Orihime's heart hammered like crazy it was literally in her throat. As she got closer to Ulquiorra her breathing almost stopped altogether and she was sure that bits of her hair were sticking to her face due to excess sweating. Orihime blushed harder due to the fact that so many people were staring at her she began fretting whether she had something unattractive on her face. She caught managed to get a good glance at Tina who was dressed in a stunning white lacy dress. It didn't really come as a surprise why millions of men were queuing up for her hand in marriage, after all, she was a natural beauty and it almost made Orihime envious. She was unaware that in three people's eyes she was like an angel from heaven.

From one corner of the room, Ichigo Kurosaki, could barely keep his eyes off the bride walking down to the aisle. His heart ached to hold her in his arms and embrace her as his own but there she was… belonging to another man even though he knew the truth. It made him angry that Ulquiorra Schiffer would force Orihime into such a thing but he held in his frustration and kept his eyes onto Orihime who only smiled gently under her veil. Gripping the piece of rolled up paper in his hand he endured the anger that burned inside him and blended deeper into the crowd of people so that he wouldn't be caught staring helplessly at the bride. He had a plan.

From the front row seats, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, could only gape at the woman under the white silk veil. He was sure that he was head over heels for the woman just inches away from him. He could see every detail of her, her snow white skin her perfect silver orbs…everything about her seemed magnified by a thousand times. It wasn't fair that his best friend was marrying her but she had chosen to marry the jerk anyway and he wished that he could respect the decision but his heart would only throb painfully at the very thought. He wasn't going to give up on her. Not yet…

Ulquiorra turned around fully. His eyes couldn't move away from the woman in white. He didn't know why he felt like this but he was sure that during the weeks with Orihime he had developed some kind of attachment to her. Was it normal? The battle in his heart raged on, he swallowed hard as Orihime held out her hand for his. Dutifully he took it and turned to face the priest.

Orihime handed the bunch of enchanting roses to Rangiku who clasped it gently. The blond smiled down to Orihime who smiled back nervously before turning to face the front mirroring Ulquiorra's form. Ulquiorra could feel her hand squeezing his tightly he responded back by intertwining his finger between her ones. From now on they'd be walking the path of their destiny…

* * *

A/N: Well? Lemme know what you think and also let me know if the music recommendation is good. Review on the outfit's for the wedding aswell! Se y'all!


	15. The Dinner Reception

**A/N: GOMEN! This was an atrociously long update and I appreciate those who waited patiently. In all honesty I had no idea what I was doing half the time when I was writing this so again I apologize if this chapter sucks. I currently don't have any music recomendations yet but I'm sure something will ring a bell and I think the next chapter is going to be late because I'm going to Hong Kong and then China. My schedule is very busy this week but I have started writing chapter 16 so it'll give a me a head start booster. I have another image of Orihime's wedding evening dress (this chapter) on my profile page so check it out. Anyway hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 15 – The Dinner Reception**

It was deadly silent as the guests anticipated for the bit when Orihime said the two little words 'I do' and when the priest announced 'You may now kiss the bride' the chorus of optimistic cheers followed shortly after Ulquiorra pushed back Orihime's veil and leant over to kiss her. Confetti was thrown at the couple as they continued to embrace each other to their hearts content. Squeals of joy and happiness came out from Ulquiorra's fans who waved flags and danced outside the church to celebrate the marriage. The paparazzi began snapping photos by the minute careful not to miss the joyous moment. Family and friends threw their hats up in sync like what university student would do. Nel cried and tried to dab her handkerchief under her eye bags without smudging her eyeliner whilst Rangiku comforted her and cheered for the couple who were still embracing each other at the altar.

For a moment Orihime and Ulquiorra locked out the cheers, cries and screams around them as well as closing their eyes. They felt as if they were alone with each other by their side holding and clinging onto one another as they searched for their true feelings.

Orihime could feel Ulquiorra leaning in further, deepening the kiss and she couldn't help but reciprocate his action. She felt an arm wrap around her waist pulling her in, she hadn't noticed that she wrapped her arms around him in return. Very slowly they parted from each other, allowing them to breathe. Orihime's eyes fluttered open to see Ulquiorra's green ones staring back into hers and then all sense of reality came flooding back into their senses. Once again the cheers of happiness resonated through the church walls, colours of all sorts came into view. Orihime stared hopelessly into his eyes savouring his facial features and mapping it out in her mind. She made sure she stared as long as she could because she knew that any minute he'd turn away from her and just as she'd expected Ulquiorra released her waist and turned away to his family.

Rangiku found the perfect opportunity to approach Orihime. She bounded up to her holding the white bouquet of roses, "Do your part."

Orihime took the roses and stared cluelessly at her best friend who only mouthed for her to throw the bouquet. Orihime smiled knowing what to do. She turned around, her back facing the crowd, and held the bouquet over her head. Immediately all the girls began gathering behind Orihime in hopes to catch the bunch of roses. Orihime breathed in and chucked the pearly white flowers into the crowd of girls. When she turned around it almost came as a surprise that Nel had caught the bunch of roses. The baby voiced girl hadn't even attempted to catch the bouquet in the first place and when it had just landed perfectly into her hand she was more or less shocked. But it wasn't just Nel who had caught it. The bouquet had somehow split into two when it was thrown in the air and the other half was sitting comfortably in Rangiku's hands. The two best friends exchanged glances at each other and then to Orihime who stood gobsmacked when she saw Rangiku holding the other half. Rangiku turned to Nel and laughed, "I guess we're both going to get married soon!"

"What?"

"It's a belief that whoever catches the bouquet will be the next one to get married. Since we both caught a part of it, I guess it means we're next to be wedded." Rangiku explained.

Nel laughed along with Rangiku and both looked up to Orihime who only shrugged but smiled. Ulquiorra reached out for Orihime's hand and grabbed it shocking Orihime a little. She glanced at him, he only kept his eyes on the exit, "Shall we go?"

"That might be a good idea." She mumbled, slightly disappointed that he hadn't spared her a glance after the kiss. It had felt exceptionally real in her mind but what was it to him? An act? The thought saddened her more and just when she was expecting to be dragged, or in other people's cases, led down the aisle and outside the church she felt a sensation of being lifted up. By the time she realised what had happened she was already out the church. Ulquiorra had unexpectedly swept her off her feet and carried her out the church_ bridal _style.

Orihime clutched onto his chest in fear that he was going to drop her, "Ulquiorra-"

He cut in before she could finish, "I'm doing this for you."

She smiled but was still slightly confused, "I only need to walk a couple of steps until we reach the car. I think I'm more than capable of doing that."

"Then_ let_ me do this for you." His voice was softer than usual but there was a slight tone that he was pleading. Perhaps he did have a heart and maybe, just maybe he did feel something in that kiss whether it was a spark of electricity or the start of a flame, it didn't matter just so long as she knew he had a heart. She smiled again, nodding her head, and then she leant closer to him resting her head against his chest; slowly she deeply inhaled his minty scent which weirdly had a calming effect on her brain. She only had a small amount of time to enjoy the moment before she was placed back down onto the ground in front of a white limo. Orihime waved at her friends and her new family-in-laws and blew kisses. More confetti was thrown at the couple as they stood before the crowd of people. Ulquiorra opened the limo door and tapped her on the shoulder, "Let's go. We'll see them at the venue this afternoon."

Orihime nodded and waved the last good bye to Nel and Rangiku before picking up her dress and stepping inside the limo. Ulquiorra gently took her hand guiding her inside and once she was inside he turned to his mum and grandma who smiled at him. _I love you_ he mouthed; they mouthed the same response back.

Orihime stared in awe inside the limo. She had been expecting that it'd be beyond beautiful because Ulquiorra had the money to pay for the stuff but she hadn't imagined it to be this good. The limo had included everything. A fridge, curtains and believe it or not even a _bed_. She couldn't help but blush a little with embarrassment. What on earth did Ulquiorra think they'd be doing with the bed? In any case it was best not to ask.

"Ulquiorra. You coming in?" Orihime asked poking her head out. Ulquiorra turned around. Her eyes were round and innocent as they usually were but today there was something about her that made her glow. He stared at her in amazement for a while until her music like voice broke his trance, "Ulquiorra. You okay?"

He was almost unable to answer, "I'm fine." Quickly he stepped inside and slotted himself next to Orihime before shutting the door cutting out the cheers of joys from family, friends and fans. His eyes wandered curiously out the window to where Ichigo Kurosaki stood. The orange headed man glared at him and he couldn't help but return a dirty look back. Ulquiorra was 100% sure that the orange head was up to something and it caused him to lean closer to the window to get a good look at the Kurosaki boy. He was unaware that Orihime had been watching him. She was a little scared by the expression he wore on his face.

Orihime leant off her seat to get a good look at his face, "Ulquiorra?"

Instantly he withdrew from the window and turned to his new partner, "Yes?"

She leant closer to his face, "You seem a little weird. Are you okay?"

He backed away a little, "Why would you suggest that?"

"Is there something going on out there?" She tilted her head to look out the window, automatically Ulquiorra blocked her view in fear she would break down if she saw Ichigo. She frowned, "Ulquiorra?"

"Actually. I think I'm coming down with a cold."

Orihime frowned again, completely unaffected by his lie. He couldn't lie to save his life. She slouched back on the car seat, "Then I guess its best that we get home quickly."

"That is a good idea." He resumed back to sitting normally and signalled to the driver by waving his hand and with that the car sped off carrying the two newlyweds' home.

Orihime found it hard to sit still and began shifting about on her seat. What's more was Ulquiorra was being unusually quiet and a little more shy than usual. He didn't look too comfortable alone with her and she certainly wasn't. The atmosphere was extremely tense for a newlywed and Orihime had hoped that he'd start a small conversation but knowing Ulquiorra that was a very slim chance. She had a strange desire to pin him down on the seats and kiss him again to see if the same spark could be found again and it was oddly difficult to keep herself restrained. She sighed and propped an elbow by the window whilst gazing outside in boredom, watching them pass houses after houses and fields after fields which were very mesmerizing. Just when she was going to slip into a state of deep sleep he finally spoke, "Do you like the ring?"

Orihime instantly sat up and blinked at him. He wasn't looking at her; he was also looking out the window with the same expression she was wearing before. Deep inside Orihime knew that Ulquiorra had a good side to him. He had many traits one wouldn't expect. Weirdly he actually cared for a lot of things and he was also very generous. He finally shifted his gaze away from the window and blinked back at her, "Well?" His eyes were unusually large and they glinted out signs of hope.

Orihime hadn't really paid attention to the ring he'd slotted onto her finger and she didn't really notice. Blinking again she looked down at her lap where her finger was splayed out in full view. On her left hand, the finger beside her smallest sat a diamond ring of prime beauty. In the middle sat a large cut oval clear diamond, on each side sat smaller diamonds and beside those were even smaller ones that's were implanted around the silver ring itself. Orihime tilted her hand slightly so the light could catch onto it and when it did, it let off the prettiest glint of light Orihime had ever seen. She smiled to herself, "It's beautiful."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened a little in surprise. Orihime stroked the diamond ring, "It's honestly very beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it."

"How much was it?" Orihime asked as she adorned the diamond. I was a surprise Ulquiorra knew her finger size without asking her. Maybe it was luck but it was most likely his 'natural talent'.

"£25,000."

Orihime looked up, instantly snatching her hand away from the jewel on her finger like a human reflex, "What?"

"£25,000."

She felt faint, "£25,000…"

"£25,000" He repeated casually as if confirming the said amount.

Orihime frowned, "Oh Ulquiorra!"

"What did I do?" He asked defensively holding his arm across his face in case she attacked him at random.

"Why did you spend £25,000? I could've have been happy with a normal priced diamond ring!" She cried aloud. Ulquiorra saw that she raised her fists, reining them back so she could hit him with a heavy force and just when he thought she was going to vent her anger out onto him, she lunged over to hug him also knocking him down onto the seat. Ulquiorra lowered his arms from shock.

"But I'm really happy that you did." she whispered tightening her arms around him protectively. Ulquiorra didn't know what to do in situations like these, sure him and Sakura always hugged but with Orihime it was a different situation and a different feeling. He didn't like the feeling because he liked to know what he was doing and take the lead. Following his instincts he slowly wrapped his arm around Orihime's waist dangerously low. Ulquiorra could feel Orihime tensing up and released her so she could jump off his body. She couldn't help but stare at him as he sat up tiredly, especially his lips.

"Why did you tense up?"

"Why did you hug me?"

Neither of them answered their given questions and sat in silence whilst taking in each other's facial expressions.

"I asked first." Ulquiorra pointed out.

"Isn't it good manner's to answer a lady's question first?" Orihime countered.

Ulquiorra sighed, "Well-"

He was cut off when the limo came to a halt outside his house. It saved him the effort of having to think up an answer but it only made Orihime slightly pissed off. She liked it when her questions were answered; it meant having one less thing to think about later on. Ulquiorra instantly opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle leaving Orihime fuming inside.

He poked his head back in, "You coming out?"

"Help me out. It's hard walking in this dress."

He reached for hand and pulled her out however he had pulled with too much force it had cause Orihime to topple on top of him knocking both of them to the ground. Orihime had landed in a very normal position, Ulquiorra however had landed in a position most men would have desired. His face was directly in between her chests and right now he swore he was suffocating. He shut his eyes tightly as he struggled to break free.

Orihime glanced down at Ulquiorra and let out a loud scream when she saw where his head was, "Pervert!" Instantly she jumped off and shielded her body with her arms. Ulquiorra sat up gasping for air, taking in huge gulps before he returned to his normal state. He stood back up and dusted off the dirt on his trousers, "Actually Miss Inoue. It was you who landed on me."

Orihime opened her mouth to defend herself; no excuse came into mind so she closed her mouth again grinding her molars together.

He stood back up to his full height and frowned, "What size are you anyway?"

Orihime gaped at him. He still had the nerve to ask what size she was? "Listen here! Just because we're married don't get any funny ideas! Remember what it said on the contract-"

Ulquiorra instantly ran to grab her so he could cover her mouth to prevent her from saying anything else, "Shhhh!" Ulquiorra tightened his hold on her hand.

Orihime struggled from his grip on her; she glared and tried to yell out something in objection to his rough ways of handling her. He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "It's not safe to talk about the contract. You'll never know who's spying on us…"

Orihime froze on the spot. It was true; it wasn't safe to talk about anything anywhere. Tina and Hana were always around in the house and outside there were so many people that it was a possible chance someone would over hear. Ulquiorra released her once he figured it was safe.

Orihime stepped away from him, hugging her chest protectively as she gave him the dirtiest look she could. He smirked, "I'm not going to make a move on you if that's what you're thinking."

Orihime was still unconvinced that it was safe to let her guard down even though she knew what Ulquiorra was like. He sighed, "I was just…curious as to how you could walk."

Orihime clobbered him on the head with her hand, "Shut up." Sometimes Ulquiorra was shy, other times in a blink of an eye he was a jerk and it annoyed the hell out of her.

He stood behind her and before she could turn around wrapping his arm around her and whispered from behind, "Is that how you treat your husband?"

Orihime blushed and stammered out, "I-I'll treat you however I want." Her eyes turned hard like gems. There was something different about Ulquiorra but she couldn't put her finger on it. She could see in his eyes that he was…protecting her, but from what exactly and why?

"Is that right?" He mused letting his arms slide off her shoulders and began heading to the house. Orihime tried to ignore the events that just passed by and slapped on a disinterested face.

"Well…I think we both should get changed for the dinner reception."

Orihime nodded and followed shortly after he stepped in.

**…**

Everyone from all over the world had arrived to attend the wedding reception. By everyone it literally meant everyone. Orihime almost choked to death when the leaders of each district came and casually greeted Ulquiorra and his family and even the ancient Captain Yamamoto had come. Orihime could see many familiar people, not just friends but celebrities as well.

When it came to making a toast each of the leaders had made a very long speech though it wasn't required for them. Grimmjow on the other hand had made an incredibly funny speech and Orihime didn't know whether he was drunk or just messing around, either way he made a very bold move, "I remember when I first saw Ulquiorra. Do you know what I thought of him?"

Orihime groaned, knowing that it was going to be a long story the blunette was going to tell. The best man chuckled, "I thought he was a snobby little kid who didn't care about anything but himself, not to mention he looked like a tramp." The short answer was enough to catch everyone's full attention; Orihime could see Ulquiorra suppressing the urge to punch the man standing beside him.

"But who would have thought that over the years he was extremely supportive. When I was in trouble, he was there to take half the punishment and go on strike against teachers with me." There were a few chuckles around the room. Grimmjow continued, "When I was stuck on my homework, he was there so I could copy of his work." This time the chuckles turned into soft laughing. "And when I fell over he was there to yell at me for not walking properly." The third time some people were laughing loudly. Orihime could see Tina trying to hide a laugh behind the napkins she held towards her lips. She had to admit it was hard not to laugh. Grimmjow continued on with his speech with some more short funny phrases and facts about Ulquiorra. At one point the blunette had gone as far as describing his best friend's features. He described Ulquiorra's cheek to be as smooth as a baby's butt impacting the description by stroking his best friends cheek and then gently slapping it which emitted plenty of laughs from the elderly.

Once the speeches were done everyone took pleasure in tucking into their meal. Orihime had left the table early because the food had not suited her palette. It was too rich. She spent most of her time gazing at the ice sculptures Tina had ordered and the rest of the venue decorations. Tina hadn't done a bad job with an ice themed venue, it could pass for an ice palace. Orihime was shortly joined by more people she never knew off and Ulquiorra had to come over to assist her in the introductions as some of them spoke a foreign language. Orihime admitted that she rather enjoyed meeting these people.

**…**

"This Tia Harribel."

Orihime extended her hand not knowing why Ulquiorra was introducing her to his neighbours, "How do you do?" It had been the 52nd time Ulquiorra had made her greet someone. Usually these people were rich aristocratic people or famous celebrities but the majority were Ulquiorra's _friends_. When she found out from Tina she almost cracked up on the spot and Hana wasn't exactly the best person to be around.

The blonds' expression remained plain as it had been before. Her eyes couldn't get smaller than they already were. Her short blond hair was messy and there were three braided long strands that just seemed to hang down at random, similarly her chest was as big as Orihime's and she wasn't ashamed to make the most of her body. Like Ulquiorra, she too had green eyes but they were more humane and jade like. Orihime looked at her snow white arm and then at Tia's face with a scowl. She was envious at the neighbour's naturally coloured olive skin. The blond reached out to take Orihime's hand and shook it briefly.

Orihime smiled and joked, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Tia glared at Orihime as the auburn head laughed jokingly. The jade green eyes watered slightly and Orihime stopped laughing when she saw the sight, she was pretty sure the woman in front of her was going to cry. Tia turned away from Orihime and made her way to the food table. Orihime stared at her questioningly and turned to Ulquiorra who nodded his head slightly, symbolizing or Orihime to come over closer to his side.

She lumbered over beside him, "What did I say to her to make her cry?"

Ulquiorra lowered his head. "I guess I should have told you before."

"What?"

"Mrs Harribel is a mute."

"A mute? But I swear that being a mute means you have to be born without the ability to speak."

Ulquiorra shook his head, "No. She has selective muteness, meaning she has chosen to not speak."

"So are you saying something happened to her for her to be like this?" Orihime asked slowly as she tried to piece a story in her head.

"That's right. She's refused to speak ever since her parents were killed in a fire."

Orihime snapped her head up, "That's awful!"

"She was only 5 years of age."

Guiltily Orihime looked over to the blond who sat beside some man. Her food on the plate remained untouched and it looked as if she was only staring at it, not willing to eat because something was stopping her. Tia reminded her of herself but there was a large difference. Orihime lost her parents at 11 due to _self affliction_; Tia lost hers at 5 in _an accident_.

"Is there a way to talk to her?" Orihime wanted to get through to her somehow. After all they were both very alike and it would be good to have a friend who understood your own situation. Her voice was full of no hope as she was expecting a negative answer.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, "Only through sign language."

Orihime looked up at him, "Do you know any?"

He opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at his wife, "I do." It was funny how the word 'I do' seemed to keep cropping up. Now that he thought about it too often it sounded very weird.

Orihime placed both her hands on his cheeks, not in a romantic gesture but rather a happy fun one, "Excellent! You can teach me."

Ulquiorra blinked and leaned away when she leaned in, "Teach you?"

Orihime nodded with a fat smile on her face, "Uh huh."

"Why?"

Orihime pulled away from him and pointed to herself with the flick of her wrists, "Well…She's like me. I want to get to know her."

"You?" The tone on his voice implied he thought she was kidding around. "Miss Inoue for your information Miss Harribel also hasn't ever smiled in her entire life. It'll be very hard to harness her attention, she isn't easily pleased."

"Serious?"

He sighed, "Do I joke?"

Orihime stuck out her bottom jaw, "I guess not…" There was a pause and then she finished off the sentence, "…but it's worth trying!" She clapped her hands, making Ulquiorra jump a little by the sharp sudden noise, and rubbed them together. She took Ulquiorra by the hands and sat him down on the chair. Horrified, he looked up to his wife who sat down opposite him. She laughed at his facial expression, "You look like you think I'm going to rape you."

"It would be normal to think things to such extent if anyone is dealing with _you_."

Orihime stuck her tongue out and then grabbed his hands, "You'll only have to teach me the basics so I can understand her. Like… 'How are you today?' or something like that."

Ulquiorra held out his hands and sat there silently not knowing how to start, "Well…Where to begin? There's really quite a lot."

Orihime laughed and rose from her chair, "It's fine. Teach me some other time. For now I'll make do with some guesses." Orihime turned and left Ulquiorra sitting there wondering how on earth she was going to pull it off. Instead of stopping her he figured it'd be humorous to watch her make a fool of herself, after all, some things she did were always very entertaining.

Orihime almost reached Tia's when Nel leapt out in front of her from nowhere. Orihime stammered back a little, "Nel!"

"Hime!" She spread out her arms and stepped forward. Orihime prepared herself for another rib bruising hug as Nel wrapped her arms around.

"Nice to SEE-" her voice hit a very high hysterical note at the word 'see' when Nel crushed her chest in one go. She continued her sentence when Nel let go, "-you."

The baby voiced girl laughed, "It's good to see you too." Optimistically she slapped Orihime on her back so hard the princess almost choked. Orihime sighed quietly, she hadn't quite prepared for that 'buddy punch' but when it came to people like Nel, they were always clueless about their physical strength. Orihime looked over Nel's shoulder and tried to look for Tia but her view was abruptly blocked by Nel's wavy green hair.

"Your mum did an excellent job with the venue. I have to say that it's marvellous, especially the ice sculptures."

Orihime chuckled. "Why not steal one?" she joked.

Nel placed a finger on her chin as if thinking, "That's not a bad idea."

Orihime laughed again and patted Nel on the back. "Well Nel. I have to get going." There was a slight tone of desperation in her voice. Right now she wanted to see Tia, no, she was determined to see her.

"Eh? I just finally got to talk to you! Ulquiorra hogged you for 3 hours; surely your friends are important too!"

Orihime laughed once again, "It's not Ulquiorra's fault that he has strong ties with other international companies. Yes, friends are important to me but I can't leave Ulquiorra by himself to deal with these people. He's…my husband now." It was not a lie. Since Ulquiorra was partially royal blood, he was more than an important idol for fans, he was the future son in line to lead the district if anything were to happen to the current leader. When Orihime had said the words 'I do' she was basically entering into another contract to be bound to him and taking part in some of his work. Since she was new to all of this, Ulquiorra had no choice but to pin his hopes that Orihime would be a hit amongst the elders. It was proving successful so far with each person he'd introduced her too.

Nel stuck out her bottom lip and then smirked, "You sure you're not doing anything else with him?"

Orihime knew well what Nel was implying and annoyance spread over her face at the very dirty thought, "Nel!" Lucky Rangiku wasn't around yet. Orihime didn't think that she'd be able to handle both of them bullying her.

The baby voiced girl shrugged, giggling slightly and turned her back onto Orihime, "Sure, sure. Deny all you want but we know your dirty little secret." She walked off, leaving Orihime fuming and blushing madly on the spot. She'd forgotten all about Tia.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow of suspicion and unfolded his arms to place them down on his chair. Orihime returned back to his side red faced. He looked up in confusion, "I thought you wanted to talk to Miss Harribel." He thought it was quite sweet that she could blush.

Orihime folded her arms over her chest, casually replying coldly with a lie, "I'll do it some other time. I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

"It was Miss Oderschvank's doing, wasn't it?" he pointed out.

Orihime blushed deeper and managed to stutter out an answer, "N-no."

A low chuckle sounded from his chest and for once he smiled at his own free will. After that Orihime couldn't help but steal more glances at her husband as he dealt with more royal blood guests. It wasn't until her friends arrived that she stopped with the habit. Undoubtedly her focus was now on Ichigo Kurosaki who had just arrived a little behind the others in the traditional black tux. His chocolate brown eyes wandered over every inch of the venue and settled onto Orihime's figure when he found what he was looking for. He smiled in hope to wipe away the discomfort that showed on her face. Rukia kicked Ichigo in the shin and proceeded to approach Orihime who mirrored her actions. They stopped in front of each other, neither of them saying a word.

Rukia finally spoke, "Congratulations." The raven haired women looked Orihime up and down. After 10 years Orihime's beauty had undoubtedly blossomed and the sky, blue, strapless evening gown she wore tonight only outlined that beauty to a further level.

"Erm…Thanks. It means a lot for you to be coming here."

"I know."

Orihime noticed Rukia's hand comforting the large bulge on her belly, "How is the baby?"

"It's doing great. Due in a month!" Rukia smiled and Orihime could tell that she was happy about this unborn child; she could also see the joy in the large violet eyes whenever the baby was mentioned. Maybe someday she'd be like Rukia, happily married and carrying a child.

Again it was awkwardly silent. They hadn't seen each other properly for a long time and there was so much they wanted to know but the words they wanted to speak failed to come out. Orihime finally smiled and attempted to start a conversation with her old friends. It was partially difficult seeing as Tatsuki knew about the contract but on the whole it was like it was back in the old days. It came as a shock when Tatsuki offered her support to Orihime and it came as a bigger shock when she confronted Ulquiorra. "Listen you jerk." She tapped him roughly on the shoulder; he turned around morally surprised at her confidence to speak informally to him, "You'd better take care of Orihime properly or you'll regret the day you were born."

He blinked several times as he watched the black haired girl grab Orihime's hand, dragging her to an available table and roughly sitting her down.

"Tatsuki! Ulquiorra's going to think I set you up to do that!" She covered her face to avoid Ulquiorra's stare at the two.

Tatsuki shot a glare at Ulquiorra and growled, "I'm only helping him to treat you the right way." She slammed her had down onto the table in an unladylike manner but then again, that was just who Tatsuki naturally was. "I still don't trust the bastard."

"It's alright. He didn't force me to marry him. I agreed."

Tatsuki's cocoa eyes wavered as she looked into Orihime's angel like face, "Still…"

Jumping off the subject Orihime gestured for the rest of her friends to gather round the same table so she could get a chance to find out what they did now and what Karakura town was like these days. According to most people it was pretty much the same but everyone was just as happy as they had always been. Some of them were either dating or they were happily married. Orihime enjoyed listening to each of their stories and it reminded her of the old days when she saw their bright faces laughing with joy.

"So, what do you do for a living Uryu?" Orihime leant against the palm of her hand and watched the proud 'Quincy' prod up his glasses a notch with his index finger. She smiled to herself whilst thinking back in her mind, _the old habit_.

"I'm a doctor."

Orihime looked up across the table, "Really? I would have thought you'd be a fashion designer." Everyone giggled at Orihime's joke, Uryu turned a light shade of red. Orihime chuckled, "I'm joking. It's good you're a doctor. I'll make sure I'll come to you whenever I have a problem."

Chizuru leant closer against Orihime's arm in an attempt to touch her. Orihime knew well that Chizuru was a lesbian as usual but had opted to ignore the fact; after all, she was married to Ulquiorra now and so long as he was around Chizuru couldn't use any of her lesbo moves. The good thing was Orihime had learnt that Chizuru had matured a lot over the years and no longer use to act the way she did making things a lot easier to handle.

"So Chizuru. What do you do now?"

"Me? I'm a chef." She stated proudly puffing up her chest like a proud peacock.

"Ah, a chef! That's an interesting career!" Orihime exclaimed. Chizuru had never been any good in house economics and it was rather surprising she chose to be in an area of food.

"Not as interesting as Ichigo's!" Chizuru blurted out. Orihime glanced over to Ichigo who sat next to Uryu. The orange head was watching Orihime intently, if she didn't know him she would have happily screamed out 'stalker'. His face showed signs of amusement and happiness when Orihime glanced over in his direction. _The princess has been caught peeping…_he thought with a smirk.

"Oh. What is his career?" she asked unwillingly. Without doubt Ichigo would have a job that paid well. Isshin Kurosaki had ensured that his son had a place in the medical area in case he failed in any other career. Ichigo had always said though that he didn't want to continue with the Kurosaki clinic meaning that it was a likely possibility Ichigo was successful on his own.

Instead of Chizuru answering Ichigo himself interrupted, "I'm a human psychologist."

Orihime frowned, "Human psychologist?"

"I'm pretty sure you know what human psychology is." he added smugly.

Orihime scowled, "Of course."

"The tone in your voice implied confusion." He pointed out.

"No." Orihime spat sharply.

"Liar."

Orihime glared at Ichigo with hate, he only glared back but with anger. Everyone had been watching and had most certainly felt the awkward tense atmosphere between the two. Nobody stopped the arguing orange heads, but Rukia had thought it was best they let out their anger rather than bottling it up. It wasn't a pleasant chat that Orihime had hoped for, "What do you want Ichigo?"

"Actually, it should be what do_ you_ want?" he jabbed a finger in her direction.

Orihime's scowl deepened and she venomously spat out, "I don't have time for you Ichigo so I'd appreciate it if you'd shut up and leave me alone."

"Lie."

Rukia had slowly ushered most of the people away from Orihime and Ichigo so the two could fight it out and come to some sort of arrangement...alone. Orihime instantly banged her fists against the table out of pure anger and stood up, "You annoy me,_ Kurosaki_."

"I have good intentions for it. Unlike you…"

Her eyes narrowed down, "What are you babbling on about?"

"You know very well what."

Ulquiorra entered the scene, not knowing fully what was going on apart from the fact that the two were literally ripping each other's throats out. He could see the anger building up in Orihime's face and he could see that Ichigo Kurosaki was just as angry. Luckily the other guests were far too busy to pay attention to the abnormally loud row. Orihime turned to Ulquiorra, frustrated, "Ulquiorra. Get this man out of here!" She grabbed onto his arm desperately.

"What is going on?"

Ichigo stood up from his seat, "Nothing is going on. Unless you two are _hiding_ something."

Ulquiorra brushed Orihime's hand off his arm, "What are you implying?"

Before Ichigo could answer Tina had jumped into the scene, unaware of the argument that took place. She smiled broadly and clapped her hands, "Well. We've done everything but all that's left is the couples dance."

"Mum, not now." Ulquiorra said quickly.

She flapped a hand, "Oh don't be silly! You don't have to pack for Langkawi tomorrow. It's already been done for you."

"I know that but-"

"No but's Ulquiorra! Captain Yamamoto is most certainly looking forward to watching you two dance. Don't spoil it now!" She flapped her hands at the couple in the direction of the centre of the room where everybody could see them. Ichigo frowned at the sudden interruption but chose to stay quiet.

"Mum-"

She interrupted before Ulquiorra could say more, "I'm sure you're not busy at the moment."

On the contrary Tina had interrupted a small conversation between two rivalling men. Both unconsciously fighting for the right to stay beside Orihime as her lover. Orihime opened her mouth to say something but when she caught the look in Ichigo's eye it became obvious that it wasn't such a good idea to pressure Ichigo's anger on. Instead she took Ulquiorra by the hand and placed it on her waist whilst taking the other and intertwining her fingers in between her own. The soft music started and almost everyone formed a circle around the two in hope to view the lovers' first dance. She smiled, "Can't I have this one dance with my husband?" She placed her other hand onto his shoulder and swayed her hips elegantly side to side.

"Miss Inoue-"

"For tonight, call me Orihime." She sighed.

Ulquiorra stared down at the auburn head, "Orihime…"

"Yes?" She didn't look up.

"You're beautiful."

Orihime blushed and unconsciously clenched onto his shoulder tightly, "You don't have to act."

Slightly offended Ulquiorra replied, "I'm not."

She snapped her head up and gazed into his emerald eyes. For once he genuinely wasn't lying and for some reason it kept her heart at peace, at the same moment her heart wouldn't stop hammering out of her chest. Gently she bumped her head against his chest and muffled out, "What's up with the nice attitude Ulquiorra?"

"I'm just telling you the truth."

Orihime smiled against his chest, "If you continue to do that I'll fall for you!"

Ulquiorra's heart stopped beating. He glanced down at the auburn strands of hair below him. Unable to let her soft words take root into his brain. Had he just heard right? The once Anti-Ulquiorra fan was turning into a fan? He had somehow softened her heart and yet her presence was copying the same effect on him.

The two danced the rest of the night away in each other's arms and for once they felt safe and loved. They continued until the night faded away and the rest became a distant memory of what would be their long lasting path that was still to come.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter - Langkawi Island! God know what devislish things Orihime and Ulquiorra will be up too! For now byeee!


	16. Bitter Memories

**A/N: Heya people! Back from Hong Kong. As soon as I got back I had the best plot for this chappy and instantly began writing. It was slightly rushed cause I was so excited and all so apologies (I think I'm going to apologize for every chapter XD). I'm actually quite proud of this chapter cause theres lots of strong emotions going on. Anyways if this fails to move you I'll try harder to make you cry XD. Enjoy.**

**Song Suggestion: On the third section when she makes a 'discovery' and near the ending I suggest that you listen to 'Kiss The Rain' by Yiruma. (Lets just pretend that's the piece Ulquiorra composed).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 16 – Bitter Memories**

The plane ride had been no less than 13 to 14 hours to get to Kuala Lumpur the capital city of Malaysia. They took a direct flight there and Orihime found it terrifying to be trapped on the plane for 13 hours. It wasn't because she was scared of heights but it was the simple fact that an extremely paranoid man had panicked and screamed out that the plane was going to crash, instantly everyone had also began to panic until the air hostess' had assured them that nothing was wrong with the plane. Orihime also didn't like the airplane toilets. When she flushed it the sound was so loud and sudden it had shocked her out of her shoes, for the rest of the plane journey she had avoided drinking too much water so her bladder wouldn't be so full. She had been on a plane before but that was when she was very young but that experience was nearly forgotten. It was lucky that Tina had booked tickets for first class, it helped ease her anxiety.

Ulquiorra found the plane ride quite amusing, mainly due to Orihime's actions. He was pretty sure that no one in the entire history of plane riding had somehow managed to set fire to their lunch of salad in the first class area. It was a shame that he didn't catch the valuable moment on camcorder; otherwise he would have uploaded it onto YouTube, then again there were a lot of other valuable moments that were funnier than this.

"Ulquiorraaaaaaaa. Are we there yet?"

"Do stop moaning Miss Inoue. No. We have another hour until we reach Langkawi, after that it's only a fifteen minute drive to my mum's private villa."

Orihime groaned in response. Currently she was sitting on her suitcase in the middle of the airport with her elbows digging into her thighs as she rested her head against the palm of her hands. Orihime closed her eyes slowly, she hadn't been able to sleep comfortably on the plane ride and her eyes needed a rest from the bright sunshine. As soon as they would get to the so called 'villa' she was going to sleep on the first bed she lays eyes on.

"I'm surprised the paparazzi haven't tracked us down yet." Nervously he glanced at his watch and sighed. Slowly she lazily lifted one eye lid open and swivelled her eye to where Ulquiorra was.

"What're you sighing for?"

He stared back down at her not bothering to answer her question, "In case you haven't noticed, I am a human and at some point I will get frustrated if you ask me another question again."

Orihime yawned, "Whatever."

Things had returned to their normal ways after the wedding reception the day before yesterday. Ulquiorra had somehow gone back to his lonely ways before he had met Orihime; it was only Orihime herself who hadn't changed. She was still finding it hard to ignore the emo because every time she was around him she was 100% certain that her heart would give a lurch of joy and it was driving mentally insane not knowing why it was only him who affected her in this particular way.

The night of their wedding Ulquiorra had said so many things that he wouldn't usually and Orihime was glad to hear that the words he said was not a lie. She still recalled the words he whispered to her after their dance was almost up_; 'Stay with me.' _What did it mean? Was there a special significance to it? It was then she remembered what happened afterwards; he kissed her. Orihime blushed as her lips tingled as they brought back the sensation of his warm lips pressing lightly against her own. She touched her lips very faintly and smiled to herself. He'd kissed her at least more than three times and that included her first kiss, she wondered if Ulquiorra had kissed anyone before. It didn't stop her from asking, "Hey Ulquiorra…"

He groaned assuming she had another pointless question in mind, "Miss Inoue. If this is another question that can be answered by blatantly obvious things then do not ask me."

She laughed at his response, "I was going to ask if you've ever kissed anyone asides from me."

He immediately froze on the spot and turned a deadly pale white that for a moment she feared he would faint onto the floor. Orihime raised an eyebrow, "No comment?"

"That is only for me to know-" he began.

Orihime interrupted in a bored tone, "And you to find out. I know, I know."

"Actually no. I'd like you to stay out of my past." He replied stiffly.

"You're no fun!" She pouted throwing her hands in the air and then pressing it against her head as if it was restraining her head from blasting off like a rocket. "But does that mean your first kiss was taken by me?"

Ulquiorra proceeded to walk away from Orihime who grinned childishly. Gruffly he replied, "It's nothing you should be concerned about." He roughly wedged his hand into his pockets and deliberately avoided meeting her gaze.

Orihime smiled inwardly, she was sure that she was correct and the thought secretly pleased her. He was hers and she was his only. Perhaps his way of blushing was turning a deadly pale white…interesting and at the same moment quite amusing. Instantly she stood up and tailed after her husband who was more than willing to get away from her.

"Ulquiorra! Where are you going?"

"Somewhere away from you." He muttered bitterly not sparing her a backwards glance. Her heart sank at his harsh words. _Is he really that mad at me?_

"Hey! I was just kidding around; you don't need to sound so sour!" She cried in a desperate attempt to keep him close. Ulquiorra was walking further away from her and closer towards the exit. Orihime ran back to grab her suitcase and lugged it clumsily behind her when she ran after Ulquiorra who seemed to be speeding up by the very minute. By the time she caught up the ungrateful little jerk was already outside searching for his private taxi.

"Ulquiorra!" she called out to him, hoping to catch his attention. "Don't be mad at me." Her voice was almost pleading. He turned to face her, shocked to see her head bent down and an expression of guilt on her face.

"I don't you to be mad at me." Her voice was barely a broken whisper. "It'd ruin the holiday atmosphere." She glanced up hoping that his face would soften, and it did. Once again his eyes warmed up her heart in a strange way.

"I'm not mad at you." He said softly.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "But a minute ago you just s-"

He cut her off, "I don't mean it. I'm just…" his voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words. He caught sight of a special but recognisable taxi and instantly he forgot about what he was going to say, "Ah! Our taxi's here. Just wait here for a second Miss Inoue." Then he left Orihime standing alone as he brushed past her shoulder.

Orihime bit her lip in frustration. She hated it when he did that…leave things unanswered. Slowly she made her way to sit down on a bench, dragging her suitcase behind with her when a soft voice called out for her attention. Orihime turned around and found a stranger standing in front of her. Though this woman was a stranger Orihime could feel a pang of jealousy and hatred towards her. Was it because of her soft brown hair that contrasted beautifully with her amber eyes? Or was it her soft pale face that had a smile etched neatly onto the porcelain skin.

"Erm… Do I know you?"

The women shook her head, "No. Sorry, I just came to give you back your purse." She held out a blue object. A small growl escaped Orihime's lips when she heard the woman's voice. It was soft but it flowed rhythmically like a lullaby.

Orihime stared at it for a while and then took it, "Thank you. But how did you-"

"It fell out of your bag when you ran after your husband. I just happened to pass by."

Orihime didn't know what to say all she could manage was another rough 'Thank you' as her nails dug into her purse. The woman smiled brightly, "It's no problem. I'd hate to feel guilty if your holiday was spoilt because you couldn't find your purse."

Orihime muttered curses to herself. Damn. The lady had a nice character too. She glanced back up to the brown headed lady who was still, happily, smiling and then she spoke in the angelic voice she had, "I'm sorry. It's a bit rude of me to not introduce myself to you especially since I just confronted you without an introduction."

Orihime made out that the light was blinding her by scrunching up her eyes into a squint when in actuality she was trying to conceal her glare of jealousy towards the lady, "It's perfectly fine."

The lady smiled again, "Well I still think it isn't okay." She held out her hand, "My name is Sakura Takahashi."

Orihime tried hard to resist the urge to walk away. Raising her hand, almost mechanically, she greeted the woman, "It's a pleasure to meet you." Then she bit her tongue from saying anything foul. _Calm down Hime, she's only a stranger. Don't get so worked up. _

"Pleasure to meet you too!" Her smile widened. "So where are you off too?"

Orihime found a chance to boast about her husband's wealth, "My husband's villa."

"That's nice. Are you visiting someone?"

"No." Orihime answered bitterly. "We're on a honeymoon." Why was this girl so curious? What did it matter?

"Oooooo! A newlywed!" She clapped her hand in excitement, "Wishing you a happy marriage."

Orihime laughed quietly. Fat chance on 'happy marriage'. Sakura laughed along with Orihime thinking it was a laugh of approval. Orihime grinned painfully, "Well. I have to get going. My taxi is here." She spun around almost too quickly and desperately grabbed her suitcase. Her eyes searched for Ulquiorra and found him in the distance shaking hands with a fairly old man. She didn't bother wondering why on earth he was greeting old people now; all she wanted was to get away from this woman.

"Have a happy honeymoon!" Sakura yelled out.

Orihime winced at the angelic voice but didn't turn around. She lifted a hand in the air to show her thanks and walked a little faster until she was directly next to Ulquiorra.

"What were you doing all this time?"

Orihime didn't answer his question, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You gonna introduce me to your… old friend here?"

Ulquiorra sighed and turned to the old man who was slightly taller than Ulquiorra, "My wife still needs to learn the rules of aristocracy."

The old man chuckled, "She's very beautiful though if I may say so Master Schiffer."

"_Master Schiffer_? _Now_ I'm confused." Orihime blurted out.

Ulquiorra groaned and rolled his eyes, "This is my Butler, Mr Luisenbarn."

Orihime covered her mouth, a little embarrassed about her carefree attitude. She turned to the old man and bowed slightly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know sir."

He smiled, wrinkling up his face, "It's alright. Please, do not bow on my account." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "It should be me who should be doing the bowing. It's a great honour to be finally meeting you Mrs Schiffer… or would you prefer Miss Inoue?"

Orihime frowned and looked up at Ulquiorra who explained briefly, "Mr Luisenbarn knows about the contract. It's perfectly safe to talk about it."

Orihime stood up straight. The old man had a very friendly face it was hard to ignore his request. He had tufts of white hair around his head and a bald patch in the middle and he also had a thick white moustache to match his hair not to mention thick white eyebrows that almost covered his eyes. His face seemed familiar not to mention his surname. She smiled warmly, "Call me Orihime."

He smiled back, "Then call me Charlie and if you need anything feel free to call on me."

Orihime smiled a little wider. Charlie seemed to have a soft caring personality that she liked. She was sure she'd be getting along easily with this man.

"Did you know Miss Inoue, Mr Luisenbarn here is Barragan Luisenbarn's twin brother?" Ulquiorra added.

Orihime gawked at the creased man and turned to Ulquiorra in disbelief, "You serious?"

Barragan Luisenbarn was a scary man. Orihime recalled his scarred face from the wedding reception last night leering through the crowd of people. It seemed that the old man was intent on making Hana his wife; luckily she wasn't interested at all. Orihime had in fact spoken to him quite briefly and she wasn't sure she'd exactly enjoyed the conversation; the contents of that particular conversation contained a lot of stuff dealing with killing and war. Barragan Luisenbarn had apparently been in the army forces ever since he was young so he couldn't really think normally like other people. It also explained how the large scar got on his face. He was a rather tubby man and quite tall for his age and, according to Ulquiorra, he was extremely wealthy; his wealth was equivalent to one of the thirteen district captains.

"It's a strange world isn't it?" Charlie chimed in.

"But you're so nice and your brother is-"

"A greedy stingy man." Charlie cut in with his eyes closed as if he was disappointed. "I know. We're exact opposites like North and South. But understand that it's not his fault for being that way."

Orihime blinked several times with a blank expression, "I wasn't going to say that."

"You weren't?"

"Of course not! I was going to say that he's just got a really scary character." Orihime quivered slightly as she remembered to gory details the creep started explaining about. Charlie looked at her like she'd gone mad. She explained, "I don't judge people I do not know very well. I know that I judged Ulquiorra the first time I met him but at that time there was a lot of stress put on me."

Ulquiorra patted Charlie on the back. The old man looked down at Ulquiorra who was smiling, "I told you she's different."

**…**

"Alright Kurosaki. Make this quick. Ya have exactly a minute ta explain what tha fuck yer talking 'bout."

Ichigo scowled and slammed his hands on the table before bellowing out, "I've seen the way you look at her!"

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Don't play jackass with me! Orihime Inoue! I know how you feel about her!"

Grimmjow's hand instantly sprinted out to grab Ichigo by the collar. His eyes full of anger, "How could ya possibly know?" His hold on Ichigo's shirt tightened and he ground his teeth together in frustration. Nobody knew apart from Nel. So how did this Kurosaki boy know? It then hit him. Ichigo Kurosaki had attended the wedding. He pulled the orange headed boy closer, "So what if ya know? What yer gonna do? Tell on me?" He snorted. Even is Ichigo told on him, what good would it do? Ulquiorra already knew about it. It killed him to know that he could tell about their secret.

"No."

"Then what's yer fucking point?" Grimmjow spat viciously.

Ichigo's chocolate eyes narrowed down, locking intensely onto Grimmjow's baby blues, "I'm offering a chance to eliminate Ulquiorra Schiffer out of the competition."

Grimmjow unclenched his teeth as he let the words nestle into his brain. He released Ichigo's collar and flumped back down onto his favourite red sofa. "I'm listening." He muttered as he brought the glass of brandy to his lips.

Ichigo straightened his collar and sat down on the sofa opposite from Grimmjow's. "I don't think you know this but I too am intent on making Orihime my wife."

Grimmjow didn't choke, nor splutter out his brandy. Instead he continued to drink it calmly before slowly placing it back down on the glass table. Ichigo knew that he had the blunettes attention and continued, "We'd have no chance of getting her attention is she continues to hang around Schiffer. So are best chance is to erase him from the competition."

Grimmjow grinned madly, "I like where this is headin'. Keep goin'."

"You also wouldn't know this, but Orihime is not in love with Ulquiorra."

Grimmjow's grin faltered and he raised an eyebrow, "Do ya have proof?"

Ichigo smirked, "I do. She's being forced into this marriage. The proof is on this paper…" Ichigo pulled out a crumpled piece of sheet from his pocket and placed it on the table slowly pushing it towards Grimmjow who looked at it like it was trash.

"What you find on this piece of paper will change _everything_." Ichigo paused as he watched Grimmjow slowly take the paper and began unfolding it. He continued, "With this we have their fates in our hands."

Grimmjow looked over the paper to meet Ichigo's triumphant gaze and then he began reading the contents. As he began reading he could no longer tear his eyes away to stop him from continuing. His eyes began skimming along he words faster and faster, picking up main words like 'help', 'cancer', 'months' and finally 'divorce', until he couldn't take it. In his anger he slammed his palms down onto the table, flattening the contract. "Ulquiorra! Tha little fuckin' bitch-shit!" He snarled.

Ichigo smirked, "You see how it is now?"

Grimmjow could barely contain his anger. He was being cheated by the stupid emo if he knew he could have changed the facts. He could have _helped_ Orihime. "Oh I see how it is! When tha bastard gets back I'M GOIN' TA TEAR HIM TA PIECES LIMB BY LIMB!" He roared.

"Calm down." Ichigo hushed.

"HOW CAN YA BE CALM IN THIS SITUATION? DON'T YA LOVE HER YOU MORON? WHEN I GET MA HANDS ON HIM I'M GONNA-"

Ichigo lost his patience, "I KNOW YOU SHIT HEAD!"

Grimmjow stopped yelling instantly trying to restrain himself from going any further; as a result he looked like a tomato with a pig nose. His fist was clenched tighter than before as his fiery gaze locked hard onto the contract under his flat hand.

"Don't you think I know how you feel? When I first read this, I reacted the same way. I couldn't understand Orihime anymore. She was not the same as before and I couldn't believe it until I saw her signature. I was going to confront her about it and try to get the truth. I was going to inform his mother and grandma but then I came up with a plan."

Grimmjow's face was softening but it was still as angry as ever. "What would that be?" he growled.

Ichigo slipped the contract out of Grimmjow's palms and held up the contract with a large evil grin on his face, "Simple. We use the contract to blackmail our way through."

**…**

Orihime felt a spine chilling sensation and shivered. Ulquiorra turned to her direction, "Is anything the matter? Are you cold?"

"No. Something just felt wrong."

Ulquiorra frowned.

"It doesn't matter; it was probably a small breeze." She lied as if to assure him.

"Oh."

Orihime smiled and skipped of the topic, "So what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Ulquiorra looked up like he suddenly remembered, "My mum has all the keys to the villa but she only gave me and Charlie the copy to the front door and the garden."

Orihime looked at him, confused, "Then everything's alright."

"Not exactly. Before she left she locked all the other spare guest rooms apart from the master bedroom."

"And?" Orihime asked, still confused what the problem was.

"Well we can't open the doors to the other rooms so where will you sleep?"

Orihime stopped walking down the hallway when she realised where Ulquiorra was getting at. "Oh."

"I'm sure we can come up with something." He assured her. "In the mean time you can explore the place to get the familiarity of it."

"Sure." There was some excitement in her voice. She was more than willing to explore. As soon as she saw this so called villa – it looked more like a house – she knew she was in love with it.

"I'll be in the kitchen preparing something for us to eat." He turned to leave and without turning around he asked a question, "How does chicken salad sound to you?" There was no reply, he turned around and found that Orihime had already gone. Silently he chuckled to himself and took it as a 'yes'.

Orihime strolled past all the rooms, all of them had taken her interest but there was one in particular that reined her in the most. It was a music room brightly lit by the sunlight, packed with instruments of all kinds, from violins to flutes, from big to small. She walked in and glanced around; it was still quite spacious. The piano that stood in the corner spiked her attention; it was sleek and quite large, identical to the one in Ulquiorra's house. Orihime stared at it for a moment and then moved forward to brush the dust off the lid before lifting it with ease. The keys were still fresh looking but you could tell that the piano hadn't been touched in a while. Orihime wondered whether it would still sound the same and gave one of the keys an experimental tap. As suspected, the sound was as bright as ever, Orihime chuckled and smiled to herself as she looked around to where an old worn down desk was. It was piled with music books and sheets of hand written music - that were incomplete – stacked neatly in small towers. Something the colour of soft green caught her attention, it was lying behind one of the stacks and only the rim of it could be seen. Feeling curious once again she reached out for it and dragged it gently, not to knock over the sheets of paper, into view. The front cover consisted nothing more than a picture an enchanted light pink rose and above it read 'Happy Memories' in curly golden writing. Orihime sat down on the piano bench and placed the book onto her lap where she could flip open the cover. Her eyes were greeted by an average sized picture of a beautiful young boy probably no older than thirteen. His face was pale and he had the greenest eyes ever that contrasted with his jet black hair. No doubt the boy was Ulquiorra in his very youthful days. She smiled again and traced her index finger on the curve of his face wondering to herself whether there had been a time he wasn't ever handsome. Her heart was hammering like mad but she made no move to tame it. She flipped the page again and her heart once again burst out with life as she saw one picture of him laughing and hugging a woman no other than Tina and another picture of him laughing once again as he was being given a bear hug by Hana. She laughed and flipped the page. Her smile dropped and her heart stopped dead when she came across a picture of a girl with snow white skin and amber eyes. Her soft brown hair was curly and fell free alongside her face. Inevitably it strongly resembled the girl at the airport. She flipped the page and found a heart wrenching picture of Ulquiorra hugging the girl from behind with large smiles.

"_My name is Sakura Takahashi." _Orihime recalled the girl saying with her hand held out. Even though this was probably the past she couldn't help feeling beyond sad almost pained. Ulquiorra had been in love with another. Then as if the past of ghosts had visited she could suddenly see Ulquiorra's ghost of past sitting in front of the table full of music sheets. He was focused on writing down musical notes. Everything seemed so defined, even the scratching of the pen as he hastily scrawled on a couple of notes.

"Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked not realising that someone else had said the same thing at the same time. He stopped writing and turned around. Could ghosts see the living? She stood up in shock, closing the book and clutching the photo album tight against her chest.

He smiled, "Sakura?"

"No, it's-"

Orihime was cut off by the voice like an angel, "What are you writing?"

Orihime realised Ulquiorra's youthful ghost was staring straight past her and she turned around to see what he was looking at. She bit her lip when she saw Sakura's ghost sitting on top of the piano with her legs dangling about on the edge. Her amber eyes were locked onto Ulquiorra's face.

Orihime snapped her head back to Ulquiorra who moved out of his chair and walked over to the piano bench, "A song for you."

Sakura giggled, "Let's hear it then."

Ulquiorra breathed in deeply and then pressed down on the keys. The room was instantly filled with a beautiful melody like no other, unique in a special way. She watched as Ulquiorra poured out his feelings into his hands where they pressed down on the keys resulting in a piece of music.

Orihime's heart kept breaking with every note he played. She had to get out of this hell hole, but how? And as if God was granting her wish slowly the ghosts disappeared and the sounds slowly melted away.

Before she knew it, she was standing in the music room all alone again. Lifting the book off her chest she stared down at it not knowing what to do anymore, locked in a world of pain.

"She was something wasn't she?"

Snapping her head up to where the voice came from she saw Ulquiorra leaning casually against the doorway, his expression solemn.

There was a long pause of silence. "You didn't tell me you were in love with another." Her voice was broken.

Ulquiorra smiled at her, his face slightly hurt by her remark, "And apparently you didn't tell me you were in love with another too."

He meant Ichigo. "I stopped loving him years ago when he broke my heart."

"And I the same."

Ulquiorra also suffered from a broken heart. But was he still in love? "You're still in love with her." Orihime stated.

"No. I let go of her. The same could be said for you and Mr. Kurosaki."

"That's not true!" She cried out.

"Then if I was to ask you for your heart. Your soul. Your body. Would you give it to me?"

Orihime found herself unable to answer. Could she have the strength to say yes?

Ulquiorra snorted like he knew Orihime's reaction all along, "I thought so." He turned to leave but froze and turned back around when Orihime yelled out, "I saw her in the airport."

His eyes widened, "You saw her?"

Orihime could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and threw the words that he said before right back at him, "I thought so." She dropped the green book and then she ran out the door straight past him with tears spilling out of her eyes.

Ulquiorra stood by the doorway for a moment allowing everything to digest first. Sakura was back. Orihime was in pieces and it was his fault. What did he have to do for everything to return simple in his life again?

Footstep of frantic running were coming towards his direction could be heard and soon enough Charlie appeared with a worried expression on his face, "Master Schiffer. Miss Inoue has just run out of the villa! She was in tears!"

Ulquiorra snapped his eyes off the ground and into Charlie's black eyes, "What?"

"She just ran out bare footed into the streets!"

Ulquiorra stormed out the door, Charlie following closely behind him worried for the pair. Ulquiorra grabbed a coat and flung it around his shoulders not bothering to put it on properly.

"Do you want me to help you find her?"

"No. Charlie. I want you keep doing what you usually do. If people come here demanding for my presence or why Orihime is crying I want you to lie and tell them something that'll throw them off." Before Charlie could say anymore Ulquiorra was already out the door and storming into the streets. He had to get Orihime back into the villa, for one reason the paparazzi would catch her and his mum and grandma would be furious. For another some areas of Langkawi weren't safe and he couldn't, _wouldn't_ let anything happen to her._ Where are you?_

Ulquiorra began to run. Not having a clue where she was. He felt like a blind man, with no sense of navigation or what exactly he was looking for. He followed where his feet told him to run, turning corners, running into a patch of greenery through the trees. He couldn't bear it if something happened to her because… for the simple fact that his heart wouldn't allow it.

She had been running, she didn't know how long she'd been running or how much longer she was going to keep running but she _just_ _had to get away_. Away from everything she'd come to know. Her feet were sore and blistered and she could feel the pain but it couldn't compare what she felt in her heart.

Finally she reached something that looked like a playground. It was surrounded by a tall metal criss cross fence. Without sparing a second glance to see if anyone was there she ran straight in an huddled into the corner of the pitch. A drop of rain fell soon followed by another and then it began raining heavily soaking her clothes and herself to the bone. She hugged her knees tightly as her sobs grew louder and eventually turned into wails of emotional pain. Tears mixed in with the rain that fell onto her face and her hair clung onto her cheeks like sticky pads. She couldn't hear the two men approaching her due to her wails and the loud pattering of the rain that fell on the ground.

It was a while until someone spoke. "Hey there pretty lady."A dark voice sneered. Orihime sobbed harder, not bothering to look up to tell the guy to 'piss off' or see who he was.

"Don't cry now pretty lady. You'll ruin your face." Another cackled.

Orihime ignored them and pretended she was alone. She clenched onto her knees tightly and curled up her toes with her head buried in-between her knees. "My heart…It's breaking…into a million tiny unfixable pieces…" she hiccupped with a broken voice, some words picking up and dropping in the most unusual places.

"Did you say somethin' lady?"

Orihime sobbed harder, "I can't take it…My heart…it hurts so much…" she shook her head vigorously trying to shake away the memories. Her nails dig into her shins so hard it drew out small specks of blood.

"Yo lady! We just asked you a question!"

"I don't want to… I can't do it anymore…" She took in a ragged breath and clutched onto her shirt where her heart would be aligned, "My heart…it hurts so much…" her finger nails dug into her skin deeper.

Through the rain she could hear whispers coming from the two men and then finally one of them spoke, "Hey there lady. I can fix that heart of yours for you. How 'bout you come home with me and we can get busy?" she felt a hand grip onto her shoulders and her heart turned cold. The rough voice spoke again, "So what d'you say?" the grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Get of me!" She wailed slapping the hand away and before she knew it someone grabbed her arm and yanked her up.

"You wanna say that again?" the man sneered.

"You're hurting me…" she moaned. She wanted Ulquiorra to come and save her, but that was only in fairytales wasn't it? Her Prince Charming wasn't going to come.

The man pinned her down onto the fence, Orihime caught a glimpse of the maniac grin he had on his face and then she realised what he was going to do. He was going to rape her…

She didn't panic but she knew she had to get away so she struggled but it wasn't any good, his arms were too heavy. Eventually she resorted to thrashing about and trying to bite the bastard whilst he tried to get a decent snog. Her voice wouldn't work so she couldn't scream and just when she thought it was all over she was released. Her eyes wouldn't work properly so she couldn't see what was going on. Her ears caught all of the action, they heard punching and cursing and a familiar voice above all others.

"Stay away from her." It hissed.

She could see blurs but one figure with a dash of green was the most recognisable. Unconsciously she reached out, "…Ulquiorra…" She could care less about her pain because he was here… with her now and he was saving her…

He looked at her, his heart heavy when he saw the state of her face, "Orihime. Stay there let me just deal with something first."

She heard yelling and then some people scurrying away. The rain was still going, pelting themselves at her body until Ulquiorra pulled the coat of his form and placed it around her huddled body. His face was so close to hers, "How could you do this to me?"

Orihime didn't answer; instead she rested her head against his chest shielding herself from the world. He lifted her up with the greatest ease and carried her home like he was cradling a baby. She was tired but her body wouldn't allow her to sleep because if she woke up, she was afraid Ulquiorra wouldn't be there to comfort her and everything would be a dream dissolving Ulquiorra away. Suddenly as if he could read her mind he whispered, "You know, you can sleep. I'll be there when you wake up."

Finally managing to pull her voice out from her throat she spoke, "Promise?"

He paused and sighed in relief at her voice, "I promise."

Orihime fell asleep just before Ulquiorra reached his bedroom. Careful not to wake her, he laid her down slowly onto the bed and snuggled her head onto the plump pillows. He stood up full height to get a proper look at her face and frowned, dissatisfied at the bits of damp hair stuck onto her cheeks. Gently he brushed them aside and stared adoringly at her face and before he could stop himself he leaned over to kiss her making her stir slightly from her slumber. Orihime's wishes truly had been answered. Ulquiorra was her Prince Charming.

* * *

A/N: Do not kill me! I know, I know, some people didn't want Sakura involved but what else could I do to get Drama? HOWEVER let me make this clear; ULQUIORRA DOES NOT LIKE SAKURA! For those of you who read CHAPTER 10 PROPERLY you'll have read the bit when he said _'I'm ready to let her go._' and if you managed to read this Chapter properly... Congratulations for making it through! As for Ichigo, he's evil isn't he? I bet you just wanna kill him and give Grimmjow a spanking for even listening! And for Orihime, you can see she really likes Ulquiorra can't you? Well, I want to know whether I made you cry or not so review!


	17. Triple Love Story

**A/N: Hello again people! This might possibly be the quickest update I have done :D! After seeing reviews from the last chapter there was a lot of range of emotions. Some didn't cry as I hoped they would but oh well, what can I say, I did _try_. Again this chapter involves a lot of tear works but it's not what you'd expect. I have - in case you thought - not forgotten about the other couples of this story so this chapter includes a lot of GrimmNel, some GinRan and a little bit of UlquiHime. There will be a lot of conflicting emotions - JUST WARNING YOU - and yet again this was rushed. As I predicted from the last chapter, I apologize again - XD - if this chapter really sucks. Enjoy, Voila...Whatever you call it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 17 – Triple Love Story**

Everything seemed misty at first but then vision starting clearing up one her eyes had grown accustomed to the surroundings. It was already dark so what exactly had she been doing for the whole day? Her mind was foggy as she tried to dig out for some details, there was rain, a lot of it, and she remembered her body soaked… and two men. Orihime flinched as she recalled a pair of rough hands snaking up her shirt and then… before her mind could get through more she pulled the blankets over her head letting out a whimper of fear.

She kept telling herself that it _had_ to be a dream but the horrible images flashed through her mind, image after image. It was like she was re-living that particular moment again making her usher out a scream.

"Help me…"She pleaded hoarsely unable to distinguish the difference between reality and illusions from the mind. Another image flashed by causing her body to jerk and then curl up into a ball. She let out another scream clutching her head as she tried to rid herself from the horrid memory. She felt a pair of cold marble like hands on her shoulders and assumed that the nightmare was still going and the men were pursuing after her body.

"Get off me." She screamed as she kicked and thrashed about under the blankets.

"Get a hold on yourself!" A voice commanded.

She screamed again as the hands pinned her arms down onto the bed, "Go away!"

"It's me! I'm here!"

Orihime arched her body in an attempt to distract the person. "Get off me!"

"Orihime!"

At the sound of her name all her movements stopped, the scream and kicks ceased as she began to notice the familiar tone of the particular voice. Eyes wide with fear she rolled her head face-up and to her relief Ulquiorra's face hovered above hers. With only one glance at his face, all sense of reality came seeping back.

Slowly he removed his hands from her arms and placed them onto the bed beside her head. "Orihime?" Ulquiorra asked questioningly as he caught the mixed expressions on her face. "It's me. I'm here." He repeated softly as his eyes tried to pick out the emotions on her face. Relief, confusion but most of all fear and then unexpectedly she began sobbing silently burying and rubbing her face into his partially exposed chest whilst gripping onto his arms like she was holding on for her life.

Ulquiorra let her do what she wanted but he couldn't bear it to see her tear streaked face. "Shhhh. It's alright. I'm here for you." He hushed.

He couldn't really pick out much of her words apart from one phrase, "I…was…so scared…" The grip on his arm tightened as she continued to mumble against his chest calming down little by little.

"I know. I'm sorry."

She released one hand from his arm and banged it on his shoulder, he stared down blankly. "Idiot." She fisted his shoulder again. "What do you have to apologize for?" She sniffled.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, supporting her weight underneath him as she continued to cry against his chest, "I didn't get there in time to stop it from getting that far."

Slowly she lifted her head to look at his face. "It's your fault." She joked half through tears, half through a smile.

"Yeah. It's my fault." He hushed as she buried her face back into his chest. "I'm not going to let you run off alone like that again."

They spent the rest of the morning holding each other with so much devotion. They didn't speak, just cuddled like polar bears. Orihime trying to spend every moment she could with the one she liked most, the one who calmed her mind and Ulquiorra trying to comfort the one who held his heart.

**…**

Nel stood at the bar, scrubbing the tables and polishing the bottles of alcohol half-heartedly but she wasn't paying attention and managed to scratch the glass table and dropped an expensive bottle of red wine. Loly and the others were furious and Grimmjow couldn't care less. But that's what Nel was _concerned_ about. She glanced over to the teal haired man when nobody was paying attention and frowned when she saw the anger on his face as he rocked back and forth on his couch with his hands clasped together as if he were devising a plan or trying to make a decision. She ignored Loly's constant but deafening yelling as the small girl black haired girl swept up the shards of glass. Slowly Nel approached Grimmjow who didn't seem to notice that she was standing right beside him.

She cleared her throat, "Grimmjow?"

"I'm busy Nel. Leave me alone."

She backed off a little. Hurt by his words. "I just wondered if you wanted something to drink." She offered.

"No." He replied sharply.

"Oh. W-well I just thought that-"

"Get yer ass back ta work." He grumbled.

Nel stood in the same place for a while and then nodded and left sadly. She was inevitably in love with her boss and she had been ever since their first encounter. She hadn't known but she'd grown to love him with each day she spent with him. He wasn't exactly boyfriend material, he wasn't kind or polite, and he wasn't romantic in any way or generous. But Nel could see past that mask that he wore on the outside, on inside he was actually very friendly and caring and he rarely showed it. However he was blatantly stupid. She'd tried to show her feelings for him in many ways and occasions but he always considered it a brother sister relationship and took it as a joke leaving Nel feeling hopeless.

She also knew that he liked Orihime. It was written all over his face whenever she was mentioned or whenever she was around him. Not only that but when she'd first met Orihime, she'd snooped around Grimmjow's office and stumbled across his planner of notes and reminders. It contained everything and she recalled telling Orihime about the maid colouring system. Orihime was white, the most expensive and therefore the purest; it also meant that Grimmjow valued her most despite only meeting her twice.

"Nel?"

She turned around surprised he called her. "Yes?"

"Please be a little more careful." He scowled playfully.

Nel smiled warmly. Glad that he was back to his normal self temporarily, "Understood." And she strolled back to the kitchen to get cleaning, humming to herself a little tune.

As soon as the green haired girl disappeared through the doors Grimmjow resumed back to thinking hard. Sure he hadn't accepted Kurosaki's plan_ just_ yet but he was on the verge to calling the Orange head. Blackmail sounded like a good way to go when dealing with Ulquiorra but what would Orihime think? Would she be disgusted or secretly pleased? All the evidence he'd been given so far was convincing enough to ally with Kurosaki, but what if there was a misunderstanding somewhere in-between? For all he knew Kurosaki could have just made up the contract and forged the signatures, which wouldn't be hard as he knew Orihime practically his whole life and Ulquiorra was a well respected celebrity.

His eyes wandered casually over to his mobile which sat motionless on the table in front of him. Kurosaki's number was already in there; all he had to do was dial those numbers, press the green button and say a couple of lines, now how hard could that be?

His mind told him to pick up the mobile but his heart wouldn't let his ego take over, leaving his hand frozen in mid air. He clenched his teeth in frustration, throwing his glass cup of brandy at the wall behind him so hard it dented the concrete before smashing into tiny crystal shards and spilling out the liquid contents all over the place. The sharp shattering sound that pierced through the air caught the attention of his workers.

"ARGH! This is fuckin killin' me!" he yelled kicking the sofa hoping to break the damn piece of furniture only to have a rebound effect. He winced slightly when he placed his foot back onto the ground.

Loly, Menoly and Cirucci sprinted over to the blunette with worried expressions and hidden lust behind their eyes. Loly, being the one who wanted him the most asked if he was alright to which he viciously spat out, "DO I LOOK ALRIGHT TO YA?"

After that they didn't speak to him for a bit, scared that his anger would flare out of control resulting in a beating for one of them. Instead they offered help to which he coldly refused and limped towards the kitchen in pursuit of Nel as he cursed and bitched about himself. He burst in through the doors and as expected Nel was always prepared for his needs. She stood in front of him holding a bag of frozen peas and smiled hopefully. She raised the rather frosty bag up, "I thought you might need these."

He grinned, forgetting all about his troubles almost instantly, "You always know what to do before I even ask you."

"Spying through the window has its uses."

He chuckled as he limped over to sit down on a chair that sat in the corner. Nel followed and then bent down so she could carefully position the bag of peas over his throbbing foot.

"You should learn to calm down a bit."

He slumped down into his chair and snorted, "How do ya think I'm gonna do that?"

Nel stood back up and shrugged, "Maybe you could try doing some Yoga or something."

"I am not some softball ya know…"

She laughed, "I guess you're right. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques doing Yoga? Odd-mental-picture."

He snorted again, "So what else do ya want ta suggest?"

Nel frowned, "You could take some time off work. It's already quite late now. Maybe you should get off work early so you can sleep for longer."

He raised an eyebrow, "How's tha gonna help?"

"You wouldn't be so cranky if you're less tired." Nel replied quickly before running around the kitchen counter to get away from Grimmjow who had gotten up to punish her for the comment. Unfortunately Nel hit the dead end of the kitchen and turned around to find Grimmjow was still running towards her and it didn't seem like he'd be stopping.

She laughed and waved out her hands, "Stop Grimmjow! We're going to-"

She didn't get to finish since Grimmjow had collided into her crushing her body in between the wall and himself. His arms were beside both sides of her head. She laughed; surprised that it didn't hurt considering how muscular he was and how strong he could be. She didn't notice the position they were in until she turned her head and found his face right beside hers. Nearly nose to nose in her case. She could hear his calm breathing as if the chase was nothing and didn't realise that her own breathing was increasing.

Slowly he dipped his nose into her green locks and inhaled before breathing out huskily into her ear, "I have you cornered Nel."

She blushed and managed to stutter out a reply, "G-Grimmjow!"

He kept his face buried in her tangle of hair, "Help me relieve some stress. Think of something."

Nel panicked and instantly flipped out, "What?"

"I can't think straight anymore. Help me Nel."

She got the wrong idea from his words but due to the misunderstanding she came up with an answer. "Amusement Park!" She suddenly screamed out.

Grimmjow pulled away from her hair and stared at her face, "Amusement Park?"

Surprised by her own answer she could only nod, "There's one that's open 24 hours."

He pulled himself away from her, "And this helps me how?"

"You need to have some fun in your life." She replied. He looked at her like she was retarded. "Fun will get rid of all your anxieties and inner thoughts."

He sighed hopelessly and dug one hand into his pockets and used the other to comb back his hair, "Nel. In case yer haven't noticed, we're in our twenties. We're not a pair of little kiddies anymore. He snorted and turned away from Nel, "Not even people in their mid twenties go."

Grimmjow, had in fact, not been to an Amusement park/ theme park in well over 8 years so he'd almost forgotten the times of fun he use to have. She smiled not at all fazed about his stupidity, "But that's where you're wrong Grimmjow."

He tilted his back, too lazy to fully turn around, to meet Nel's green eyes that shimmered with glee. Her hands were clasped together like she was praying and she was almost on her tiptoes, "Let me take you there and I'll just show you that even old people have fun there."

Grimmjow groaned, "Nel-"

Before he could finish Nel had already taken his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen laughing, "Then let's go!"

Grimmjow was a little surprised by her energy, "Whoa. Wait Nel-"

She ignored him and grabbed her coat before swinging it over her back in one smooth gesture whilst dragging her mortified boss along onto the streets of district 13, "We don't have time to waste. I want you to have as much fun as you possibly can."

For a moment Grimmjow found himself mesmerized by the radiance of her smile as she turned around to face him. She laughed and continued to hold his hand with so much devotion as she dragged him along the streets, pass the lampposts and shops that emitted soft, warm glows.

Grimmjow's mouth twitched slightly, nearly curving upwards as he watched the baby voiced woman stroll casually further down into the busy roads and high streets. Then she spoke softly without turning around, "Hey Grimmjow…"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for coming with me."

Before he could stop himself or even notice his actions, his mouth curved into a wide smile.

**…**

Rangiku stared hopelessly at her sliver paged photo album. It had been a gift from Gin when she was in the same orphanage with him. He'd given her many gifts but none of them meant more to her than this album. It contained several pictures of her former companion and herself when they were younger and as she flipped through the pages the memories of her best friend once again sprouted through her mind. Occasionally she stopped at pictures that she remembered clearly like the one of Gin smiling widely showing off a gap in between his teeth. Yeah, that was when he'd lost his first tooth. He had asked for her help to tie a string to the door before he bravely slammed it pulling out his wobbly tooth in the process. Tears began forming in her eyes and she flipped through the next couple of pages stopping at one where her and Gin were stuffing themselves with cookies. That when they stolen some cookies from the cookie jar, if Rangiku recalled correctly the nuns found out and instantly blamed Gin for influencing her and they sent him to the repenting room to pray for forgiveness.

Finally after what seemed like a good long hour she stopped at the middle page and last picture. There she was, all grown up beside very tall Gin. This was taken at Christmas; they went to annual festival that took place regularly in the town square of district 5 and after this photo had been taken Gin had told Rangiku that he loved her. But she didn't know that, that would be the last time he said that to her because the next day he'd left a note at their apartment saying he had decided and been accepted to lead district 3. She'd cried so much that day. She didn't even notice that as she flipped through this memory her face was already streaked with tears.

"Oh Gin…" She sighed sadly touching the picture gently letting more tears spill out through her eyes. "What could I do to make you stay?" She lowered her head letting her fall all over her face and allowed the tears to drop onto the laminated pages.

"Oi. Matsumoto, stop it."

She looked up to her superior. His ice blue eyes were firm but they showed some sympathy for the blond. She wiped her tears aside and pouted, "Captain. That's mean!"

"You're my lieutenant. I won't stand for any crying when you're meant to have fun especially since you dragged me here in the first place." He mumbled.

"I brought you here on request of Momo." she retorted.

He sighed, "Matsumoto. You brought everyone here even Captain Kuchiki." The prodigy glanced over to where Byakuya Kuchiki sat. Frankly, it didn't look like he was particularly enjoying the music and he hadn't once touched his cocktail drink brought by his lieutenant Renji Abarai. Toshiro figured that it was probably hurting the Kuchiki clan's pride that the head of the house was here. Currently half of the district leaders and their lieutenants were at a night club. Rangiku had invited people to come to celebrate Orihime's marriage to Ulquiorra and although she was meant to be having fun she didn't exactly know why she wound up bringing her photo album with her.

Momo came strolling by and spotted her best friend with puffy bags and bloodshot eyes like she had been crying and when she approached the blond she could see the back of her lover's head who was sitting opposite Rangiku and assumed that he was trying to probably comfort her.

"Rangiku!"

Toshiro turned around surprised by Momo's sudden appearance, "Momo."

The shy girl turned to her lover with a worried expression, "What's going on with Rangiku?"

"Memories." He replied simply, rolling his eyes before Rangiku burst into tears again to which Momo instantly ran over to her side throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Momo… I miss him so much…" She sobbed hiccupping between words.

Momo was on the verge of crying herself but since Toshiro was just opposite them she felt it would be best not to make him feel bad, "It's okay Rangiku. You'll find someone who'll love you just as much as he did." After a while Toshiro decided to leave the two alone so they could have one of those feminine chats.

Rangiku shook her head vigorously side to side, tears falling down faster than ever, "I just can't bring myself to love anyone else."

It's was true. She considered giving Shuhei Hisagi from district 9 a chance – since he evidently had a huge crush on her – but it ended up in a close friendship rather than a boyfriend – girlfriend relationship.

It had almost been a year or two since Gin was sacked from his job and he hadn't contacted Rangiku at all. As soon as she'd found out about the horrible news she only wanted to do nothing else but comfort him even though he was so much braver than herself, so she went straight to district 3 in hopes to find him only to find out that he'd already left without a trace leaving her distraught and lonely. Then she found out that Gin had apparently been killed in an accident, leaving her depressed for days on end and heartbroken for life.

Rangiku had only taken the job in district 10 because it was the closest she could get to Gin, sometimes she would consider trying to persuade his lieutenant Izuru Kira to swap jobs but she was also quite fond of her own captain and didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings.

Momo frowned, saddened by the thought that she couldn't really help her best friend out. However Momo was determined to help because she could sort of understand what Rangiku was going through better than anyone else. When Captain Aizen suddenly left she didn't know what to do, it was thanks to Toshiro that she discovered she was in love with the boy prodigy. Her ending was a happy one and she hoped that Rangiku would be the same.

"Rangiku. Let's get you cleaned up." Momo slowly urged the blond off her seat and helped her make her way to the bathroom but Rangiku pulled away just as they were about to enter the toilets, "No Momo. I'm a big girl. I'll just go home and cry it off."

"But-"

Rangiku turned to the smaller girl, "I'll be fine. You just go and spend some time with your boyfriend."

Momo clutched onto her hand tightly as she watched Rangiku sweep up the photo album from the table and dumping it into her bag. Then slowly Rangiku made her way out of the club and disappeared into the darkness.

Tired and still upset Rangiku lazily dragged herself to her apartment looking down rather than straight ahead therefore she managed to bump into someone and she wasn't even drunk on sake.

"I'm so sorry sir." She mumbled still not looking up from the ground

"Nah. It's okay." His accent sounded funny. Just like Gin's. Rangiku fought of the urge to cry again and pulled her hair back so she could get a good look at the man. Her pupils dilated and her eyes widened because right there in front of her stood her one and only Gin Ichimaru.

**…**

They were ascending higher up into the midnight sky and it seemed like forever. Nel was practically jiggling about in her seat out of fear and Grimmjow was laughing his arse off when she let out a small petrified squeak. Rollercoaster's were never Nel's thing but Grimmjow had forced her onto it anyway. This one was particularly interesting, it looped many times, it also ascended high up before dramatically dropping down at an incredible speed. Not to mention the bonus where it swirled around making people feel sick.

"Look down Nel!" he teased waving his hands around in the air.

Nel shook her head and shut her eyelids tightly, "I hate rollercoaster's." She clutched onto the metal bars in front of her in fear she would fall.

The couple behind her were just as cowardly as she was also clutching onto the bars provided. They were quite shocked that Grimmjow hadn't once screamed throughout the ride up till this point.

Out of curiosity Grimmjow wanted to lean further over the edge to get a look at the world beneath him. He shifted his weight onto one side and leant over the obstructing door. Nel felt his body warmth disappear and opened one eye to see what was going on. She panicked and practically dragged Grimmjow back into his seat when she saw what he was doing and now she was regretting it because the rollercoaster had slid down the arch that they were just ascending up upon a minute ago. She felt the whoosh of the wind smacking across her face and instantly placed her hands back onto the metal bars gripping them so tightly they became sweaty. Nel let out an ear piercing scream to match the couple behind her. Once again Grimmjow laughed like a maniac but stopped when the ride came to a halt. It had finished. Much to Grimmjow's disappointment.

Nel was, of course, glad it was finished. Her breathing was fast and very laboured with the back of her head pressed flatly against her seat. As soon as the bars where lifted away from her body she fumbled to release herself from the seatbelt. Grimmjow chuckled and assisted a hand.

"Can we go again?" he asked hopefully, his eye gleaming with a mischievous shine.

"No." Nel said sharply. Grimmjow grinned at her genuine reaction trying hard not to laugh at the crazed expression on her face.

Once she was free she immediately jumped out of the damned cart and hastily made her way towards the exit shortly followed by Grimmjow who was grinning the whole time.

She turned to him with a stern expression, "That is the last time I'm going to ride that cursed thing."

Grimmjow stifled a laugh and then he stopped, "Y'know. We still haven't found any _old_ people here."

Nel frowned, "Don't start that again. Of course we'll see someone."

Grimmjow ignored her as they continued to stroll by ride after ride. "Can we go on tha ride?" he asked out of the blue pointing towards a haunted mansion.

Nel stared at the mansion curiously and then smiled, "Sure. I don't see what's so scary about that."

Grimmjow grinned, knowing that she'd missed the rollercoaster tracks on the edge of the old building and he couldn't help but chuckle at her childish behaviour.

Soon enough the couple found themselves on an even scarier rollercoaster. Obviously Grimmjow was enjoying every bit of it and Nel was just making it even more enjoyable. She kept screaming "Oh my God!"

The ride came to halt…but it wasn't finished. The lights went out encaging everyone in darkness, Grimmjow could hear Nel silently praying for mercy amongst the other rising whispers of fear. So far they'd been past fake prisons with realistic people being electrocuted, bobby traps that auto activated and dropped plastic spiders, blood squirting fountain – which was actually water mixed with red dye – which splattered and soaked people. Grimmjow doubted that anything else could top that off. He was wrong because after a minute or so of eerie darkness and hushed voice an illuminated phantom suddenly jumped out from the left side of the cart. Everyone let out a loud, long, petrified scream. Since the phantom was closest to Nel she screamed the highest and stretched out her arm to punch it straight on in the face. Grimmjow cracked up when the phantom suddenly said "Ouch!"

Nel stared at the phantom and sighed. It was only an actor. Quickly she stuttered out an apology, "I'm so sorry!" Grimmjow swore he couldn't take anymore. His tummy was going to split into two.

The actor responded with a low grunt, "Don't do that again!"

It angered Grimmjow a little that the actor was yelling at Nel and he reached over to punch him in the face again but a little more harshly. "I'm sorry. Ma finger slipped!" he yelled out. The phantom actor cursed silently and slipped away.

Nel covered her mouth to stop from screaming again. The lights flicked back on and the ride continued on. Silently Nel uttered out her thanks to Grimmjow who responded with a smirk. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and was surprised to see Ulquiorra's mother and Grandma had been on the ride too.

"Tina! Hana!"

The old woman cackled, "You were here too?"

He grinned, "Hella yeah…"

"Was it you who was screaming the loudest then?" Hana sneered jokingly. Tina shoved her mum in the arm and smiled at blunette.

Grimmjow snorted and flapped an arm, "Blame it on Nel." He pointed to the trembling girl next to him with a smirk.

Hana chuckled, "Same with me. Tina had her eyes closed the whole time." She pointed to her daughter who was looking rather paler than usual.

"What are yer doing here? Aren't yer supposed to keep a low profile 'specially since yer have cancer an' everything?"

Tina answered swiftly, "Mother felt a little sad Ulquiorra and Orihime weren't around so I took her here for some fun. Turns out it was a bad idea because she refused to go on anything non-scary and dragged me onto these blasted rollercoaster's."

Hana chuckled, "Besides, who cares about low profile. Everyone is too tired to notice. Also you're the one to talk Blueberry. The girls at this amusement park are practically drooling over you and you're…pheromones."

Grimmjow smirked forgetting the fact that he was still mad at Ulquiorra, "What can I say. There's too many I don't even notice."

He glanced behind the Schiffer's and saw the couple that were previously behind Nel on the other ride. The girl caught his eye and blushed when he grinned, her boyfriend looked a little jealous.

Nel tugged on his arm, "Can we get off now?"

He looked down at the baby voiced woman, "Nel, the ride isn't even finished yet."

Behind him he could hear Tina sighing, "Oh God…"

"I don't know how much more of this I can take." She shuddered.

"Just think of something else in the mean time." He comforted.

Nel's face brightened and she turned around to Hana, "Hana. How old are you?"

The old woman frowned, a little confused at Nel's randomness, "I'm 66."

Nel glanced over to Tina who knew how to answer, "I'm 42."

She turned to Grimmjow and whispered quietly into his ear, "You see. There _are_ people over 40 here."

Grimmjow whispered back, "Well Hana's a freaky Grandma and her daughter is a mummy's girl."

"Still…"

Soon enough the ride ended. Tina and Hana decided to go home because it was getting very late but Nel and Grimmjow had decided to stay for one more ride. They said their farewells and then Nel proceeded to drag Grimmjow off to the Ferris wheel. The queue wasn't that long at all and sooner or later they got into their own capsule. All alone. It didn't bother Nel one bit since she was distracted by the view it supplied but it made Grimmjow uncomfortable not because he didn't like it but because he was feeling strange sensation stir within him, totally out of his comfort zone. He couldn't keep his eyes off Nel for one second and when he did he felt so cold and alone, it was like Nel was acting as his own personal radiator, automatically warming him up when he was cold. He smiled at the curious girl who was looking out of the capsule and into the twinkling lights of each district he hadn't even noticed that she called his name until she touched his cheeks.

"Grimmjow. Are you alright?"

Instantly he pulled away, "I'm fine."

She frowned, obviously not fooled one bit by his lie. She ignored it and tugged him towards the window of the glass capsule in hopes to chase his thoughts away, "Grimmjow. Take a look at the lights, they're so pretty!"

He didn't stare at the lights, he stared at Nel with a soft gaze, "Yeah. Ya are."

Nel looked up, "What?"

"Oh, sorry, I mean, yeah, _they're_ pretty."

She resumed back to looking out into the outside world with a large smile on her face. Grimmjow couldn't understand what was going on with his body, his hand automatically reached out to touch Nel's hair but before his hand could even brush against it, fireworks were released on the other side distracting the two. Nel turned to look at the other end and ran over to try and get a closer look at the explosive lights getting further away from Grimmjow's reach.

Grimmjow sighed sadly; dropping his hands back into place of his pockets and combed his other hand through his hair, pulling it back and out of his eyes. He leant on the glass capsule wall, silently he cursing to himself, "What's wrong with me?"

**…**

"Gin…" She paused and let an exasperated sigh, "Is that…really you?"

The slit eyed man frowned making no effort to answer. Instead he stood rooted in the spot emotionless as a statue.

Rangiku took a step closer towards him tears welling up in her eyes again. She reached out a hand, "Is that really you?"

He still made no move to get away, his frown turning sadder by the second. Finally she reached him her hand outstretched to touch his face. As she least expected she felt the soft velvet skin radiate warmth onto her palms, "It's really you Gin, isn't it? I'm not dreaming?"

He flinched slightly as her fingers weaved through his hair. It was also soft and his silver hair shimmered underneath the lamppost.

Her tears were now free falling; she bit her lip unable to believe that he was here. Right in front of her and he was …alive and healthy.

"This isn't some illusion right?"

He still did not answer.

"Gin, please! Answer me!" She cried bursting into a state of even more tears.

Finally he raised his hand and placed it on top of Rangiku's, "Yeah, it's me Ran. I'm here." He hated to see her crying and he hated it more when he knew that he was at fault.

Rangiku burst into louder sobs whilst trying to shut herself up, her face was now completely soaked in wet salty tears.

Gin reached out for her shoulders, "Ran. Please don't cry…"

She attempted to wipe her tears away but more kept pouring out of her eyes wetting her face all over again. She couldn't really say anything else apart from his name, "Gin…Gin…Gin…"

Slowly she felt herself being embraced and instantly her tears stopped, leaving her wails turning into hiccups of air as her chin was forced up onto a shoulder. From behind she could hear Gin whispering, "Please don't cry for me Ran…It makes me feel upset too…"

Her hiccups were slowly dying down as she inhaled his deep scent of dried permissions. She attempted to speak, "Gin… I thought… you had…" and then she burst out again not able to complete her sentence.

"I know. I'm so sorry…so very sorry." He hushed stroking her hair.

She managed to sob out an answer, "Gin…Please don't…Please don't…Please don't leave me again…"

Yet again he could not answer. Could he really stay and not break her heart? She clutched onto his back as if assuring he wasn't going to run off any moment now and buried her face deep into his shoulder, sobbing her heart out for the one she'd always loved.

"Gin…" She paused and let the words from her heart slip out, "Gin. I love you."

Gin paused not knowing what to say or do and then finally as the second turned into minutes he found the words he wanted to say, "Ran. I love you too."

* * *

A/N: I swear by the end of this story I'm going to turn into some soft fuzzy forest animal XD. I think I'm going very soft for stuff like this. Damn, I might need to punch a wall get get my non-feminin side back! Anyway, review and lemme know what you think.


	18. Truth and Misunderstanding

**A/N: Hello people! Sorry for the late update (again with the apologizing! XD), I'm hoping that this chapter will satisfy you. I've been very busy (ignore the fact that most of my time I am watching asian drama's ;D) but I've just had about enough time to sqeeze in some writing. No music recomendation's so far, I'm having to rat my brains out for something good but hey sometimes the chapter on it's own is good enough. Well enough with my ranting, GET READING XD!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 18 – Truth and Misunderstanding**

Two days had passed since Orihime was almost attacked by the bastard rapist. Within those two days Orihime had spent her time inside the villa building up her confidence little by little and she was almost back to normal. Occasionally when she went out into the garden she'd ask Ulquiorra or Charlie to accompany her out of fear that something bad would happen but on the whole she could go out by herself even though she still didn't have enough confidence to actually go out in the streets. Today was especially a lovely day to take a stroll out in the garden and since Ulquiorra had gone out to get some food she was alone with Charlie.

"Charlie?" She asked popping her head into the living room.

The old man looked up from his book and smiled, "Yes Orihime?"

"Would you mind just sparing a bit of your time and coming out to the garden with me?"

He closed his book and placed it down on top of the wooden desk, "Of course I wouldn't mind."

"Thank you." She waited by the door until Charlie came over before making her way to the entrance of the garden. Charlie followed behind without a complaint, instead he continued to smile the way he usually did which Orihime didn't mind at all. In fact she enjoyed his bright personality and having small conversations with him. He was a wise man with an interesting history. Apparently he and Barragan were once very close when they were younger. Now who'd have thought the scary violent man was so nice when he was young?

"So Charlie. What would it be today?"

The old man shut the door behind him and furrowed his eyebrows deep in thought, "Hmmm. Do you know the rules of Old Maid?"

Orihime's face lit up, "You mean the card game where you remove one queen from the deck and pick off the other person to try and get a matching pair?"

"That's the one."

"I love that game!" she exclaimed clapping her hands excitedly.

"You do? Hana loves it too." He paused and then added, "Do you want some pink lemonade?"

Orihime looked up at the blue sky that was lit up by the sun, "Why not? It's pretty hot and the sun is shining so brightly!"

Charlie nodded and headed back into the house to begin preparing it, "I'll be back soon."

"Take your time!" Orihime called back trying hard to resist the urge to run out and roll around on the green grass. Eventually she settled down to sitting on the wooden rocking bench that stood out in the patio. Orihime sighed and inhaled the fresh scent of clean rather than polluted air. There was a mixture of scents; freshly mowed grass, a waft of sea breeze…

No wonder why Tina and Hana chose this destination for a honey moon. It was perfect but Orihime wasn't satisfied. There was something missing… but what? What would a usual honeymoon couple do? Oh…Yeah…They'd spend half their time in the bed…

Orihime blushed deeply and fidgeted around with the hem of her summer dress. She'd forgotten that they had to share a bed and even though nothing yet had happened it was still rather embarrassing. Last night was particularly difficult to avoid him. Firstly he absolutely refused to let her go and sleep in the mini bed outside the patio; instead he offered to sleep in it but Charlie had told them that he'd get bitten by mosquitoes. Secondly he wrapped his arms around her body not allowing her to move away. She didn't know what reason he was doing it for but assumed that he was only trying to comfort her. She had to restrain herself from touching him by telling herself that she was reserving her body for 'The One', obviously her hormones had other ideas and drove her insane.

"Orihime?"

She looked up to see Charlie's aged faced across the table. He was holding out a cup of light peachy pink liquid in one hand and a jug full of the stuff in the other. Already placed down on the table was a neatly stacked deck of cards.

"Oh sorry Charlie. I didn't realize you were here."

"Perfectly understandable. The heat can make you a bit loopy and tired."

"Yeah." She lied trying to make it sound like she agreed which didn't sound at all convincing.

Charlie ignored it and held up the cup, "Would you like sugar with it?" His other hand was already prepared to stir in a teaspoon of white sugar.

Orihime shook her head, "No. It tastes great on its own." Slowly she got up from the rocking bench and strolled over to the metal framed table opposite Charlie. Happily he handed her the cup of lemonade and watched her intently as she lifted the rim of it up to her lips. She sipped a bit of it and licked her lips, "Delicious."

He smiled back, happy he'd gotten her approval, "Thank You. Hana's addicted to the stuff."

She laughed at the mental picture of the old lady drinking it madly in one gulp. She couldn't help but feel curious to how Charlie knew so much about Ulquiorra's grandma, "You talk about Hana a lot."

He chuckled, "Do I?"

"All the time. Haven't you noticed?"

He pressed his lips together for a moment, "No, not really. I guess it's a habit."

Orihime jumped onto the main point, "How is it you know so much about her?"

He sighed and seated himself beside Orihime who followed his example and sipped her lemonade again. Slowly he leaned over and grabbed the deck of cards and began shuffling them as he spoke, "I'm Hana's lover."

Orihime almost spat out her drink onto his face but forced herself to swallow resulting in coughing, "Pardon?"

He chuckled and decided to rephrase, "Orihime. Let me tell you our story."

She put down her drink and began listening carefully as not to miss any details. Charlie took a deep breath, his hands still shuffling the deck, "Long ago, me and Hana lived in the same district. My father was Hana's father's best friend so we were naturally very close as well. I used to visit her often and we'd play many games together along with my twin brother. We went to the same school and grew up together, growing to love each other with each passing day. We said that one day we'd marry each other but then her mother had already arranged for her to marry a rich aristocratic man. She couldn't deny her mums wishes and followed along with the plans."

Orihime gasped slightly, saddened by the love story, "So she didn't love him?"

Charlie looked slightly offended, "Of course she loved him."

"But I thought she loved you."

"She did and still does. But you see, she didn't love him the way she loved me. Yes, she was happy and he returned that love back, even when Tina was born she was so happy but she couldn't break the agreement her parent's made with the Yamamoto's. They were the great leader's of district one."

"Well that explains Ulquiorra's relation to Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto." Orihime mumbled to herself.

"I never envied Hana's husband because I knew that she loved me too. Then when Tina was fourteen her father died. Hana was so distressed and was having a hard time raising her daughter on her own so I came to help. I lived with them until Tina was eighteen and then I left to stay here."

"But why didn't you just stay with Hana? You two could have been happy!"

"Well, I heard that Hana had cancer and I couldn't face seeing her dying. I love her too much to let her just slip away from this world." He paused letting the tear dews fall from his eyes over his creased face. His hands had already stopped shuffling the deck of cards long ago. "I've enjoyed all the moments I've spent with her and I don't regret ever falling in love with such a lady." He paused yet again to take in Orihime's appearance. Her silver orbs were shining and wet, her face was streaked with tears of sadness. He waited a bit to start again, "I'm going to miss her when she passes away into the other world."

In a broken cry Orihime managed to sob out some comforting words, "I'm so sorry…" She reached out for his hands and clutched onto them. Not only was Orihime feeling so sad for Charlie but the fact that the best and coolest grandma was sadly going to pass away in five months was so heart wrenching. She could barely understand what Ulquiorra would be going through let alone what Tina and Charlie must be feeling. Why did Cancer have to be such a bitch in life?

Finally Charlie managed to sober up a bit, "Orihime, please do not cry on my account."

"But-" she began sniffling out.

"You've done more crying than anyone here. I think you ought to enjoy the holidays." The old man glanced up to the sky, "The sun is smiling upon us today and so must God." He smiled through tears and placed a hand on top of Orihime's lowered head. "You truly do have a heart as pure as anything good in this world."

"Charlie please don't say that-"

"Miss Inoue? Have you been crying again?" Ulquiorra's voice asked in disbelief with a hint of concern by the doorway. He was carrying large shopping bags in each hand filled to the brim with all sorts of food.

Orihime looked up and wiped away her tear before getting on with assuring Ulquiorra that she was fine, "I'm honestly okay Ulquiorra."

He ignored her assurance and made a guess, "Are you still scared?"

"No! I'm fine it's just-"

"It's me isn't it?" he asked a little sadly like he knew it all along.

"No!"

He snapped his head back up, "Then?"

She took a small glance at Charlie just barely managing to catch him shaking his head, he was telling her to lie and she complied not wanting to complicate things any further. "I fell." She replied bluntly not knowing what other or better excuse she could possibly come up with.

Ulquiorra cocked an eyebrow, "I see." He turned his attention to the back of Charlie's head. "Charlie. Could you prepare some fresh salad for us?"

Respectfully Charlie stood up from his seat, "As you wish." He kept his head lowered to avoid his master's gaze and shuffled off into the kitchen like a little dog but even that couldn't fool Ulquiorra's piercing green eyes. Orihime soon found herself interrogated by her husband.

"What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't tell me it's nothing! You and Charlie have both been crying." He pointed at her puffy red eye bags and her blood shot eyes.

Orihime waved her hand about in the air, "We haven't! We've just… got a bad case of hay fever!"

He snorted, "Charlie doesn't suffer from hay fever and nor do you."

Orihime frowned but didn't reply back. Damn was he observant! Ulquiorra spoke smugly, "Do you want to try another excuse? Or would you prefer to tell the truth so I don't have to force it out of you?"

Orihime pressed her lips together, not really knowing exactly what to say. She could try the truth… but Charlie wouldn't want it to be told. Poor Charlie must be suffering…"Love is a really painful thing isn't it?" She asked out of the blue.

Ulquiorra stared at her for a while obviously quite confused by the change of tone in her voice and change of topic, "It is."

"How is it you know?"

"Because right now someone is in my heart." He paused to glance at Orihime. Right now he had her full shocked attention. She probably hadn't sussed out who he was talking about even though any person could blatantly see who. "When she smiles my heart hurts and when she holds me my heart is ripped out of my chest and now my heart belongs to her and her only."

Orihime squeezed her hands tighter as she let the words sink into her head. "Is she really that mean?" Orihime asked sadly. She had roughly guessed who he was talking about and she had to admit that her own heart felt the exact same way as his. Two halves of a whole... her mum had once said. Was this what she meant?

He kept on his stoic face and then softly smiled, "She's not mean because when she tells me something I want to hear the pain is gone."

Orihime blood rushed up to her face in an instant. My God… Ulquiorra was really admitting he had feelings for her? No… he hadn't said _those_ words yet, surely he was talking about Sakura.

Ulquiorra noticed her deep in thought expression. Had she guessed who he was talking about yet? No…She wouldn't ever know, would she? "I think she truly has my heart. I am undoubtedly in love with her." He confessed with a tone of softness in his voice.

He did it… He really said it! There was no question that he was admitting his feeling for her. He loved her… Orihime could feel her heart about to burst, unconsciously her lips moved on their own accord, "Ulquiorra. I-" She stopped, too embarrassed and confused to say the words he had just pronounced to her. Disappointed by her sudden pause Ulquiorra continued off from where he left, "But I don't think that she'll ever love me in return…"

Orihime looked at him with an expression of pain, he couldn't bear to see her like this… but he couldn't bear to stay with her until his heart felt like it was being poked by red hot needles. Silently he turned to leave. He hadn't even considered that she might come after him and unexpectedly the sound of the chair scraping against the ground came shortly followed by frantic running before the back of his body was tightly embraced by warmth. His arms were restrained by another pair of soft arms and he could feel the nuzzling of a face against his back.

"Don't leave me." Orihime muffled out quietly letting out a wisp of warm breath heating up the fabric on his back. "I don't want you to leave me." Her arms tightened just by a fraction.

"Any specific reason?" Ulquiorra asked with a smile.

"Because you're a jerk." It made her feel good to bully Ulquiorra. She always felt significantly better and she didn't know why.

He chuckled, her sarcasm never failed her in her time of need. It was the closest he was going to get to a confession, "I'm just going to help Charlie."

"Hey Ulquiorra…"

"Yes?"

There was a very long pause apart from Orihime's breathing and then there was a sigh. "…I think I'm falling for you…" She blushed and buried her face into his back, she couldn't face the humiliation. Ulquiorra could feel a gush of extreme heat and chuckled again, it was rare for her to blush especially with the attitude she honed.

"Whatever happened to your violent side?" He joked.

Orihime punched his shoulder blade, "Shut up."

"That hurt…"

"A real man wouldn't have felt that." Orihime jeered playfully. She unwrapped herself from Ulquiorra and gave him a push, "Go and make me something to eat. I'm hungry."

Ulquiorra sighed and began strolling off murmuring to himself, "So demanding…Don't know why I chose you…of all people, it just had to be this witch."

"I can hear you, you know!" Orihime warned scowling behind his back. He waved a hand dismissively and then placed into his pocket before disappearing away from view as he turned a corner. Orihime smiled, though she still wasn't exactly clear on her feelings for the pale skinned man she had at least managed to pick out two feelings… admiration and adoration. She had also hinted those feelings and at least he'd gotten a little wisp of it and returned those feelings back with more devotion, passion and love.

"Oh and Miss Inoue. Clean up the mess you made."

Yeah… She definitely admired and adored him.

**…**

"I don't miss those two little tykes."

Tina glanced at her mother's miserable expression which wasn't helping her statement sound realistic enough. The old lady had done nothing but eat vanilla ice cream – she thought chocolate looked like dog shit – with a drink of soda.

"It's fine to admit you miss them. It doesn't make you any weaker." Tina assured kindly with a concerned smile. Her mother meant so much to her and she couldn't bear to see the old lady sad. Ever since Ulquiorra and Orihime left for their honeymoon she had to find ways to keep her mother preoccupied. They'd been to a haunted house and though her mother fairly enjoyed the experience, she, did not. They'd went to an amusement park where they met Nel and Grimmjow which was enjoyable but Hana soon had grown bored of it. Now Hana was in the living room surrounded by boxes of junk food whilst she mellowed around in her loneliness. Over the past month, Hana had grown extremely attached to Orihime and now it seemed like she didn't ever want to be separated from the auburn head. Tina was getting fed up of ways to keep her mother busy; after all, there was nothing she could really do. Instead this evening she had opted to talk things out with her mum but the stubborn lady refused to admit she missed them.

"I'm not missing them one bit." Her voice began to tremor at the end of the sentence.

Tina sighed folding her arms, knowing full well her mum was lying, "You don't miss them? Yeah, _real believable_."

Hana scowled and popped open another packet of Thai Sweet Chilli Crisps. She couldn't be bothered to retort back. What was the point?

Frowning at the way her mother savagely grabbed a handful of the oily stuff she snatched the packet away and waving it in the air, "Stop eating this stuff! It's not good for your health."

"Who cares? I'm dying anyway…"

"Mother!" Tina cried out. She really hated it when her mum said that to her.

Hana continued on with the painful torture, "I'm going to wither away like a rose reaching the end of its life; I'm going to-"

"Mother! Stop it!" Tina exclaimed before letting Hana finish her sentence. "What can I do to make you happy? I can't exactly ruin Ulquiorra and Orihime's honeymoon by telling them to come back!"

Hana slumped lower into her armchair, not wanting to hear anything her daughter was saying. Tina sighed and placed the packet of crisps back down onto the desk and then placing her hands on Hana's shoulder, "Mum listen to me, don't do anything crazy…"

Hana ignored her and had an idea, "Maybe I should take up smoking…"

Tina panicked, "No! I forbid it." She shook her mums shoulder roughly.

"Smoking sounds like a good way to go…" Hana murmured thoughtfully.

"Mum! How about we go to another theme park! I know! Let's play Old Maid! You love that game!"

Hana wasn't listening still and then before Tina could stop herself she yelled out a suggestion, "Let's call Orihime and Ulquiorra!"

Instantly Hana came out from her deep trance like state and grinned widely, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that before!"

Tina laughed nervously, "But it might be best we don't disturb their honeymoon."

"No, no, no! We must check that they're alright!" She fisted a hand into her palm and jumped off the armchair to make her way to the work desk where the telephone was charging. Tina followed her mum nervously, trying to persuade the aged woman to not call. In one sweep Hana's hand was already clenched onto the phone.

"Come on! It's fine." Hana had already dialled the numbers to their Langkawi Villa.

"Mother…"

Hana ignored her daughter's silent pleading and pressed the green button. The phone began to ring and Hana pressed it eagerly to her ear. Tina frowned but surrendered and admitted her defeat. Her mum always got what she wanted anyway…

Someone picked up, "_Hello?_"

"Hello Charlie!"

"_H-Hana!_" his voice sounded bewildered. "_Why are you calling? It must be the middle of the night back in America!_"

"I just want to see how you're doing."

"_I'm doing fine. Are you well?"_

Hana nodded agreeing to Charlie's response, "Yes, Yes. Tell me, how's Ulquiorra and Orihime? Can you put one of them on the phone for me?"

There was a pause and then Charlie spoke nervously, "_They're a little busy right now…_"

"Where are they?"

"_In the Master Bedroom." _There was a sense of hesitation in his voice, like he was keeping a secret.

Hana grinned, "What exactly are they doing?"

"_Nobody would know_." Charlie replied quickly. In the background Hana could hear a loud growl that almost sounded…lust-filled?

"Charlie!" She barked.

"_Yes?_"

"What was that?"

"_It was just a wolf_." he lied.

"Don't lie to me! That was Orihime! Hold out the phone so I can hear what is going on!" Hana demanded, not angrily, but happily.

Charlie sighed from the other end of the phone and silently murmured, "_Yes._" Then his voice disappeared. Hana pressed her ears harder against the phone as she began listening. Tina glanced up nervously at her mother who was listening so intensely…_What was going on?_  
"_Fuck Ulquiorra!_" That was definitely Orihime's voice screaming out. Her cursing was followed by a low grunt from Ulquiorra. There was heavy breathing and then Orihime's voice suddenly cursed out again, "_Damn it hurts!_"

There was a pause; Ulquiorra panted a second later "_You agreed to do this tonight!_" Then he cursed, "_So bloody tight!_"

Orihime let out a groan, "_Bring it on! I want to finish this!_"

"_Am I hurting you?_" Ulquiorra panted as he breathed heavily.

"_No. It feels so damn good!" _Orihime gasped and took in a sharp intake of air_, "Harder Ulquiorra! Harder!_" Orihime screamed out half through pants. There was a loud bang like a piece of furniture had shifted. Finally everything seemed to have ended when Orihime screamed out the last words, "_FUCK!_"

Hana choked and then burst out laughing. Charlie's voice came back onto the phone, "_Hana. I think you've heard too much._"

"Damn right I have!" She cackled. "Well, at least I know that they're okay."

"_I told you._" Charlie sighed.

"Now I think I can sleep well tonight." She sighed contently. "Goodnight Charlie."

"_Goodnight Hana_." And the phone line was cut off. Hana placed the phone back on to the charger, turned to her daughter and laughed.

Confused Tina demanded to know what was so funny, "Mum, what's going on?"

After calming down a bit Hana rubbed away the tears, which formed due to laughing so hard, from her eyes. She giggled gleefully, "It's good news. Boy am I going to have lots of great grandchildren if this keeps up!"

**…**

"Damn Ulquiorra. You're one hella of a strong bastard, you know that?"

"You're pretty strong yourself."

He clenched onto her hand tighter and dug his elbow deeper into the table. He didn't know why he agreed to this but it seemed reasonable at the time. Since Orihime was getting fed up of sharing the bed she had proposed a hand wrestling duel and whoever won would get to sleep on the bed whilst the other slept on the outside bed in the garden patio. Ulquiorra had said that he didn't exactly see Orihime complaining about it two days ago and that she looked like she fairly enjoyed it. Orihime only scowled with a blush and commented that Ulquiorra took up at least 75% of the blanket which was highly unlikely that it was true since he was always holding her close.

They had decided to play in the middle of the day so they'd have enough time to prepare for the night ahead of them. So far both their hands were straining to push the other down so their clenched hands were suspended in mid air occasionally quivering from side to side. They were on equal strength. Orihime kept her wild eyes glued onto Ulquiorra's bony hand.

The phone could be heard ringing from the living room but Ulquiorra made absolutely no move to get up and retrieve it. He knew Charlie would get it anyway…

"Who do…you…think…is…calling at…this time…of day?" Orihime panted as she tried to keep her hand upright. Distracting Ulquiorra would give her an advantage but he didn't seem to be buying it. She could feel Ulquiorra's hand straining against her own. At least she was giving him a hard time too.

"No idea…"

Soon they heard Charlie picking up the phone but they couldn't really hear him speaking, they were too focused on winning the duel to even eavesdrop. There was absolutely no way Ulquiorra was going to sleep outside, apparently Orihime was also thinking the same way.

Ulquiorra tightened his sweaty hands and Orihime let out an animalistic growl, "No cheating Ulquiorra!"

"I'm not cheating…" He panted his hands straining against Orihime's hand which seemed to have a burst of new energy. Somehow as if his arms were now cooperating with his thoughts his own hand suddenly found a new form of energy causing Orihime's hand to jerk back slightly at the new sudden strength.

His hands were clenched onto Orihime's so tight she couldn't stop herself from letting out a scream of pain, "Fuck Ulquiorra!"

Ulquiorra grunted unconsciously whilst his eyes focused onto Orihime's sweaty hand. Both were panting heavily as they fought for dominance over the other. Neither hands were moving were moving. Orihime cursed out again when Ulquiorra's hand tightened by an inch, "Damn it hurts!"

Orihime tried to shut up so Ulquiorra would think she was coping fine, her hand jerked lower towards the table. Silently she whispered out hoarsely, "Screw this…I'm gonna lose anyway."

Ulquiorra refused to win just like that and panted out with exhaustion, "You agreed to do this tonight!"

Orihime nodded showing she understood that Ulquiorra wanted a fair win and tightened her hand unconsciously. Ulquiorra winced and cursed out in pain, "So bloody tight!"

Orihime let out a groan, "Bring it on! I want to finish this!"

It then dawned on Ulquiorra that he was most likely hurting Orihime with his monstrous strength, "Am I hurting you?"

Orihime clenched her teeth thinking that when she won, all this pain and endurance would be worth it, "No. It feels so damn good!" She gasped taking in a sharp intake of wanted air. She was so close to winning now but she had a dodgy feeling Ulquiorra was letting her win so she attempted to fuel him on. "Harder Ulquiorra! Harder" she urged screaming half through pants of extreme exhaustion. Ulquiorra complied to her request and poured every last ounce of strength he had left but in the end it was no use, Orihime had smashed his hands down onto the table causing a loud bang to resonate against the bedroom walls, she let out a scream when a sharp pain shot up through her hand from wrestling, "FUCK!"

The aftermath of wrestling soon followed into Ulquiorra's hand and he let out a grunt. On addition to the aftermath, his hand had also been slammed down with so much force against the wooden table causing more pain. Orihime began massaging her shoulders and Ulquiorra massaged his sweaty hands.

"Guess I won." She murmured.

"You don't look particularly happy about it."

"I'm not. It wasn't fair play, you were letting me win!" she snapped.

He frowned, "Actually I wasn't."

She scowled, "Don't lie."

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Am not."

"Are too!"

Ulquiorra raised his hands and bellowed out, "Fine! Let's just say it was a tie since we can't seem to agree whether it was fair play or not."

"Sounds fine with me…" She paused and then asked, "But then who's going to get the bed?"

Ulquiorra realised for a moment what Orihime was getting at, "Oh… I hadn't thought about that…"

"So all that wrestling was for nothing?" She cried out in disbelief slamming her palms down on the desk.

Ulquiorra opened his mouth to say something when Charlie burst through the door with an expression of concern for the couple in front of him. "That was Hana on the phone." He reported. His face creased up more, "She heard you lot."

"What?" Ulquiorra shouted. At the same time Orihime swore under her breath, bitching about Hana being nosy. Ulquiorra slapped his forehead, "Why did she call now of all times?"

"She wanted to check if you were alright. Obviously she heard Orihime…swearing so she must have guessed what you lot were up too."

"What do we do now? We can't exactly tell her that Orihime didn't want to share a bed because we're not actually a married for love, can we now?"

Orihime placed a hand on Ulquiorra's shoulder, "Calm down. I think we need to think this through. There _has_ to be some misunderstanding here."

Charlie chimed in, "Miss Inoue talks wisely. Mr Schiffer I think it's best if we all calm down and think of a plan."

Ulquiorra flumped down onto the chair and drummed his fingers along the table, "I guess you're right. But what do we tell her. We can't let her suspect this marriage is a fraud or we'll never know what could happen to Miss Inoue."

Everyone went quiet as they flipped through possible lies they could use that were believable. Orihime ratted her brains out for an answer, a simple solution and then she found it quietly she cleared her throat catching the attention of Ulquiorra and Charlie. She smiled, "We could just tell her I don't want to get pregnant."

Charlie clapped his hands, "That's very logical. Hana's always wanted to see her great grandchildren so she's always telling Ulquiorra to 'get laid' as she calls it."

Orihime sniggered. Ulquiorra frowned, "You're forgetting that even if you don't want to get pregnant we always have the use of 'protection'."

"Then just say that I'm not ready to 'get laid'." Orihime replied with a slight trill in her voice.

"She already thinks I took your virginity."

"Damn Hana's got a dirty mind!"

Charlie interrupted, "We'll just stick with Orihime's excuse. It's the closest we're going to get anyway. Just enjoy your time as much as you can. Four days you've been here and you only have 3 days left."

Orihime cocked an eyebrow, "Why so short?"

"I drew the minimum line of a week."

"Why? It's nice here. I like it."

"Be grateful I drew a minimal line. Granny wanted to make it 3 days and Mum wanted to make it three weeks."

Orihime rolled her eyes. Of course. The elder's liked to interrupt and do the arranging and Ulquiorra's elders were always twice as nosy. 3 days to enjoy Langkawi, it sounded so short! What was more was that she had an instinct to spend more time with Ulquiorra, you know, to get to know him more and cherish the time she could truly be alone with him. Five months would be gone and over in a blink of an eye, with the exception that if she won the promised skiing contest it'd be an extra 6 months added on, only that she was bound to lose because she'd never actually skied before. So as Charlie said, she'd gladly make the most of her time and she intended to spend every minute with Ulquiorra.

It was strange… her type _wasn't_ Ulquiorra; her type was men with indulgent eyes, _not_ piercing ones, she liked someone who was quite muscular even with a shirt on _not_ someone who looked skinny. She liked tall men _not_ someone who was quite short. But most of all Men with orange hair, like Ichigo, made her crazy, though they had to be very good looking. So why was it Ulquiorra also made her feel beyond crazy? He wasn't particularly extremely nice to her but he did care. Perhaps it was the fact he was a well respected celebrity or that he was passionate in making the most beautiful music anyone would ever hear?

But either way, even though Ulquiorra was capable of loving, even if he didn't notice Orihime she planned to stay by him to see what she felt when he was around.

If there was one thing she learnt from her mother and the people around her, it was that even 'cupid' would be able to match up the most unusual people together…

* * *

A/N: Aaaaaaaand we can defintely see an improvement in Orihime's emotions. She's defintely falling for him isn't she? I'm such a sucker for this couple! As for Hana and Charlie's own love story, we'll find out some more in later chapters (in case you were curious) also just as a head warning Sakura will be coming so watch out! I think I've uploaded some picture's of Langkawi Island on my profile page so review and let me know what you think. Byeeeee!


	19. Swimming Pool of Memories

**A/N: Hey guys... now before you scold me for a late update I have a good reason for it. All of a sudden my Internet Connection broke! Gah! Luckily I found one of those plug in ones but it's only for temporary use. I was also starting my GrimmNel fic and I hope that when I'm done with 'Stay with me' and 'All I want is this' I'll upload it! I know what you're thinking; that this chapter has an odd title, but trust me, you'll understand why it's entitled this said name! So enjoy and hopefully my Internet will be back on track before my next update! Bye!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 19 – Swimming Pool of Memories**

"Ulquiorra! What the fuck? There's a secret door here!"

Ulquiorra looked up from the sun bed he was currently laying on, sighing he closed his book that he was reading, pushed his glasses over his head and tiredly approached Orihime with the closed book in his hands. He yawned, "Miss Inoue. The neighbours have ears you know."

Orihime ignored him and scowled, "Why the hell didn't you tell me about this door? It's hidden right behind the garden rose bushes!" She brushed aside some more leaves enabling for Ulquiorra to see, what was surprisingly, a wooden door. Carefully Ulquiorra tried to remember why that specific door was there in the first place and then he said out loud in a disinterested tone, "Oh, that door just leads to the swimming pool. Charlie cleans it out every week."

Orihime gaped at him, "You have a pool!"

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was very important."

"Ulquiorra!" She grabbed the book he was holding hit him hard on the back of the head with it.

"Ow." He winced rubbing his scalp, "That hurt you know."

"The whole point of a holiday is to enjoy the sun and swim!"

"The whole point of _my_ holiday is to relax."

"What's so bad about swimming?"

He didn't answer and turned extremely quiet. Too quiet for Orihime's liking.

"Ulquiorra, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No."

She frowned knowing that he was lying. Slowly she began circling him like a vulture whilst he stood helplessly in the middle swallowing clumps of air. She narrowed her eyes down when an idea pooped into her head, "Is it because you can't swim?"

He went quiet again. Orihime clapped her hands and pointed at him in disbelief, "You can't swim?"

He frowned, snatched the book out of Orihime's hands and turned away from her. She smiled sneakily and bounded in front of him, "I can teach you if you want."

"No." He gently moved her aside and headed back to his sun bed. Orihime once again stepped in front of his path with a smile plastered on. He sighed, "What do you want?"

She grinned, "Can I go swimming?"

He rolled his eyes and jokingly hit her on the forehead with his book, "If you must…"

Her grin broke out into a huge smile and she reached out to grab Ulquiorra's hands, he was taken aback by her sudden reaction. She smiled and trilled out, "Thank you!"

Orihime pulled him tightly for a hug and turned to run off to the patio that lead inside the master bedroom.

Evidently all her clothes were in that room so she often made her every day trips in there, the down side was that every time she entered she always caught Ulquiorra shirtless with tousled wet hair that steamed up after his long hot shower. She had to admit that she had tried to ignore the sight but she also had to make one point… boy was he buff when he was like that!

Since when had she become so interested in an arrogant guy like him? Damn was she growing soft for the likes of him! Orihime reached the glass doors that barred her off from the master bedroom and stared a while at her own reflection that mirrored her exact image, in her eyes she could see that she really wasn't much of a beauty. The word 'beauty' didn't really fit well in her vocabulary but she didn't loathe it just because other women fitted the word perfectly, some people, especially Tina, were just born lucky. In her face she could see so many flaws which she jokingly thought held her back from being something of a 'goddess'. She swore there were things that resembled moon craters on her skin and lifted her hand to touch the area on the skin, he fingertips brushed against her cheeks but they felt nothing but smoothness, sighing she assumed it was a hallucination. She watched as her twin image copied her every move perfectly. Casually her eyes wondered over from her reflection to Ulquiorra's. There he was, sprawled out on his sun bed with a book in front of his face. Orihime had never seen him look so serene and calm, most of the time you could see the stress lines that appeared on his forehead, but today his face was smooth like marble and probably soft like chalk. How on earth did Tina have such a good looking boy, intelligent boy? It was probably the fact that boys were most likely to inherit their mother's looks and intelligence from either one of their parents. Damn if only she'd been lucky to have parents like that!

She hadn't noticed that Ulquiorra was peering over his book, curiously watching Orihime. She had stood there for a while and he opened his mouth to ask her what she was intending to do when she all of a sudden jerked a leg forward too quickly therefore successfully crashing into the glass door in front of her. She tumbled down onto the ground; Ulquiorra shifted his weight off his sun bed, temporarily concerned for the naïve auburn head. She jumped back up clutching her head and turned around to Ulquiorra waving the other hand out. "I'm okay. I'm good!" she assured.

Ulquiorra frowned and then chuckled when she fidgeted with the door handles trying to get it open. After a while she succeeded and nervously smiled at Ulquiorra who only hid his face behind the book whilst his shoulders trembled uncontrollably. She stepped in and slowly closed the door, avoiding looking at Ulquiorra out of embarrassment.

As soon as she knew he wasn't paying attention she bolted for the wardrobe doors and flung it open. Her eyes were greeted with the sight of thousands of clothing. Instantly she began to dig through the wardrobe, Charlie had kindly offered to fold the clothes in neatly, and instantly began throwing out the piles of neatly stacked clothing onto the bed - poor Charlie, all his hard work gone down the drain - just so she could find a swimsuit. Much to her dismay Tina had slipped in lacy lingerie that only some seductress would wear, not to mention that instead of packing swimsuits Tina had packed bikini's. More than anything in the world Orihime hate showing off her body, okay she admitted she had a good body that filled out in all the right areas, but the thought of prancing around in something that could be practically underwear was slightly disturbing. She silently prayed that there would be another option…

…and there wasn't.

Tina's sneakiness was so sly! Had there ever been a mother so insistent before?

Orihime crinkled up her nose in disgust and held up the less eye catching bikini she found. It wasn't that much better than all the others but at least it was closer to normal, there was absolutely no way Orihime was wearing some slutty one in front of Ulquiorra. She cringed at the thought. Her reputation was sure to be ruined. _As if it isn't already…_

Orihime strolled to the bathroom and shut the door, double locking it in case Ulquiorra 'accidently' walked in. She stripped down and put on the bikini, it fit perfectly. Orihime walked up to the mirror to take a look at herself. It actually didn't look bad on her, Tina had a good eye. The colour green contrasted well with her skin. She did an experimental twirl and once she was satisfied she unlocked the door and headed out to the garden.

Luckily Ulquiorra wasn't paying attention and he was too preoccupied with his book to notice her creeping out from behind the door. She smiled and stopped at the foot of his sun bed with her hands behind her back. For a moment Ulquiorra continued reading but noticed something was different, he lowered his book and stared at Orihime in shock. When the hell had she gotten here?

Orihime smiled, "Well. I'm going off to swim… You sure you don't wanna take up my offer?"

Ulquiorra didn't answer; he glared at her pristine face.

"I'll take that as a no then." She smiled and then posed slightly, trying to make it casual. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking…" He paused to remove his glasses and folded them down onto his lap. Orihime chewed her lip for a positive answer and then he continued, "…that I need to go and have a shower."

She pouted; obviously annoyed he'd ignored her. He closed his book and removed his reading glasses. Tilting his head up to squint at the sun, he sighed and shaded his eyes with his hand. Orihime was pissed off more than ever when Ulquiorra did little meaningless things, especially when he didn't say anything. Why wasn't he interested in her anymore?

"Miss Inoue. Charlie's just removed the cover off the pool; he's left you a glass of coconut milk beside it in case you get thirsty." Ulquiorra picked up his book and glasses and made his way towards his bedroom, without turning he waved a hand, "Enjoy your swim…"

"I will!" She yelled out moodily. Damn was he annoying! With that she stormed off and violently kicked open the wooden door with her feet, it flew open and at once she calmed down when she saw the serene blueness of the pool. Unlike the usual swimming pools, it actually looked like the water was natural, not some chemical mixed one. It wasn't very small, in fact it was quite large and the area around it was perfectly cut grass, no weed or blade of grass taller than the other. Unlike the other side of the garden this part could pass for heaven, even the birds seemed to be at bliss in this area. Orihime sighed in contentment. A golden coloured maple leaf glided down from its branch and gracefully twirled weightlessly until it hit the surface of the pool, creating ripples that gradually got larger and faded.

Orihime bit her lip, not wanting to dive in a ruin the stillness of the water but it was too tempting to be the first one to touch the pool so she slowly sat down on the edge and removed her locket that hung loosely around her neck. She placed it at the side of the pool before she dipped her feet in. The water was unexpectedly warm, not to an extent where it would make you sweat but to one where it relaxes your muscles, instantly she loosened up and slipped into the water and let out a sigh. She stared into the evermore blue cloudless sky and began to wonder, what would her life be if she hadn't met Ulquiorra? Would she still be able to be here, under this sky? And most importantly would she be able to let go of Ulquiorra after the 5 months ended?

Her head spun at the thought of so many looming questions, she let out a groan, sucked in some air and plunged her head underneath the water closing her eyes in the nick of time. She could feel the cool water gliding across her skin and slowly she opened her eyes despite the fact that the pool probably had chlorine in but for some reason her eyes didn't sting. Liking the sensation of the cool water brushing against her pale skin she swam deeper into the pool, kicking her feet rapidly to boost her body forward in graceful way. Her eyes could just about make out where the corners of the pool were and from one corner, there was a glint of sliver light. Curious she swam towards the glinting light without surfacing up to breathe. As she got closer to the mysterious object, the glint of light became quite blinding making it harder to see what it really was. She moved forward and recoiled when the flash of light hit her eyes, eventually she had to breathe and resurfaced up for more air before diving straight back down, she reached her hands out and managed to clutch the object. Satisfied she went back up to the surface and clambered on the edge of the pool placing the thing well away from the pool; she hoisted herself up and sat down on the edge allowing herself to catch her breath and finally after a while she tilted her head to the object beside her. The first thing that was noticeable was that it was encrusted with pure clear diamonds and the second was that the arrangement of diamonds was shaped to form something that resembled a swan with its wings spread out. Orihime picked it up and inspected it carefully, as not to miss any important details. She flipped the diamond encrusted bird around and found that it was a badge. Holding it in front of her eyes, she slipped back into the water. What was a badge doing in the pool in the corner? Perhaps it belonged to Charlie seeing how Ulquiorra never came here, but at the same time she hadn't seen Ulquiorra's whole life and so he must've been here at some point. She sighed inwardly, "Only one way to find out…"

"Find out what?"

Orihime jumped at the sudden appearance of his voice, "Ulquiorra!" She turned around with the badge still clutched in between her fingers. He was dressed only with swimming gear on, but… he couldn't swim unless…

He ignored her shocked tone in her voice and narrowed his eyes down on the object she was holding, "What's that in your hand?"

She looked at him and then the badge, holding it up, "This?"

"Yes."

Wading her way through the water she reached the edge and placed both hands down on the edge to hoist herself up. She held out the badge for Ulquiorra to see, he stared at it for a moment and frowned momentarily, Slowly he clasped his finger around it, urging Orihime to let go and she complied. Just like what Orihime had done he inspected it and then clarified he'd never seen it before when Orihime asked if it was his.

"Well I just found it lying at the bottom of the pool in the corner." Orihime shrugged.

"Maybe Charlie would know…" He added thoughtfully. "Let's just leave it aside for now." He placed the badge down onto the ground well away from their bare feet and stood back up to face Orihime.

"I suppose…Anyway, why are you here? More importantly, why the hell are you wearing swimming trunks?"

Slowly, almost unwillingly, he answered, "I've taken up your offer."

Orihime was pretty sure that there was too much water in her ears, "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself…"  
She grinned, "What? I'm just-"

"Just get in the pool."

She anchored her foot to the ground and folded her arms over her chest with a smug look on her face, "And why should?"

"Because I said so."

"Just because you said so doesn't mean- ULQUIORRA PUT ME DOWN!" She yelled flinging her arms round his neck. He had just suddenly lifted her up bridal style. _What the hell?_

Slowly he approached the edge of the pool and held Orihime so she hovered above the water. He grinned at her worried expression when she looked below her and then back up to his face.

"If you continue to talk to me like that, you'll get punished…"

She ignored him. "Ulquiorra if you chuck me in the pool before I'm even ready to hold my breath, I'll bloody kill you." She warned with a glare.

"You know…I think my fingers are slipping, I don't think I can hold onto you much longer." He teased.

"Ulquiorra!" She clutched onto his neck tighter, not willing to let go. Not that she would anyway…

He chuckled and surrendered, "Fine…I'll put you down." True to his word he gently lowered her until she was back onto her feet; her arms however remained where they were. Orihime stared into his emerald eyes in a hypnotic way. God…When had he come this close to her? He noticed her grey orbs were upon him and spoke quietly, waking her up from her trance, "You can let go you know."

Eyes wide with embarrassment she quickly she removed her arms and placed them behind her back. He smiled softly, "Well then… shall we begin?"

"Erm… Sure. Why not?"

"So how do you want me to do this thing?" He awkwardly crouched down beside the pool and dipped a foot in.

She laughed at his approach to the water, "How about you get in first and then I can teach you properly?"

He slid in and then turned around looking up to face her, "Well. What now?"

She grinned, "Let me show you _my_ way of getting into a pool." Steadily she back away from the pool earning a confused look from Ulquiorra. Taking a deep breather she sprinted for the edge of the pool, jumped high into the air, curled up into a ball and then collided with a loud splash into the water. Ulquiorra looked at her with his mouth almost agape when she rose back up the surface, snorting water out of her nose. He was almost unable to believe that she had just performed, what he called, a flip dive. He scolded her, "That's very dangerous! You almost scared me!"

She laughed pushing her wet hair out of her eyes, wading towards him, "It was good though, right?"

As much as he wanted to say 'no' it was actually fairly entertaining but he only nodded his head slightly as not to reveal too much emotions. She grinned, "I'll bet that I'll be able to teach you that. You want to learn?"

"No."

She grinned again and then resumed back to what she was supposed to be teaching her new student. "Okay. Firstly how much do you know about swimming?"

"I know a lot."

"Then why are you asking me to teach you!"

"No…wait…let me rephrase that. I know a lot about swimming; however I do not know _how_ to put it into practice and simple actions."

Orihime paused, not really expecting that kind of answer from someone as arrogant as him, "Oh… I think I understand."

"All you need to do is teach me how to do it."

"Mmmmmm…It's kind of hard to explain, I mean…it just comes naturally for me…"

"It's okay. Take your time in explaining."

Orihime thought for a second, "Well all you really need to do is kick your feet to keep yourself propelled at the same time use your arms as well."

Ulquiorra tested her instructions out, it didn't work, clumsily he sank slightly and immediately stopped trying so he could place his foot back down. Orihime disguised her laugh with a cough. He shot a glare at her; she smiled innocently pinching her hands to refrain from laughing. "I think the problem is that you're not using both limbs in sync."

"It's hard."

Orihime swore that his statement vaguely sounded like a pout. She bit her lip, "Perhaps if you interpret it like music it'll succeed."

"What do you mean?"He questioned. She'd spiked his interest, music was his passion, what purpose did it function in swimming?

"Well the way you play the piano…your hands go in different directions and play different keys and so your brain tells your limbs to function the same way. If you imagine playing in the same direction, pressing on the notes at the same time then perhaps your brain will tell your limbs to work together. "

"I see. That's an interesting theory. I think I'll give it a go."

Surprisingly he stayed afloat longer than last time, he was quite happy that he'd at least managed to stay up for more than 30 seconds. Orihime's theory was working.

Orihime touched his shoulder in a comforting way. "It's okay if you don't get it the first time, not everyone does." She said softly. He nodded and she smiled, "Keep trying and I'm sure that you'll get it."

He nodded again. He was determined to be able to swim by the end of the day. With Orihime by his side, he couldn't fail, could he now?

**…**

"Orihime's pregnant? Since when did she find out? You can't possibly find out that quickly!"

Hana chuckled and tapped her nose, "They don't have to sleep together after they're married you know…"

Tina frowned, "I doubt it mother. Orihime wouldn't be that type of girl…"

Hana pushed on, "But it might not even be her who suggested that they 'do it', it could be Ulquiorra who wanted to 'do it'."

Tina shook her head, "It's not possible, not possible…"

"Ulquiorra's very stubborn you know. Once he says he'll do something he won't go back on his word."

"But you don't have _proof_ they've slept with each other? Orihime could still be a virgin for all we know!" Tina pointed out.

"Then how do you explain the sounds I heard coming from them last night on the phone?"

Tina's jaw dropped, "What sounds?"

Hana gestured for Tina to come closer, her daughter complied, leaning in with anxiety as her mother whispered in her ears. Her eyes widened with shock at her mother's report of the two star-stroked lovers and she pulled away to look into her mum's gleaming eyes. She covered her lips with her fingers, "No!"

"Yes!"

She shook her head, unable to believe it, "No!"

"Yes!" Hana added with a vigorous nod. "It most certainly sounded very realistic. Couldn't be anything else."

"Surely…surely you've heard wrong." Tina's own voice sounded unstable, like she didn't believe in her own words. "I can't believe I'm actually considering this!"

"Think about it. Ulquiorra's always known that you and I've wanted to see his children, he's probably respecting our wishes and producing an heir as soon as possible."

"You're lying aren't you? This is one of your practical jokes, isn't it?" Tina demanded.

Hana laughed, "Nope! For once I am telling the truth."

All was quiet, a smile crept onto Tina's soft lips and she leaned forward to hold her mum's hands, "We're really going to see my grandchildren?"

Hana nodded, clutching onto her daughter's hands tighter, "Yeah. We are."

Tina's eyes welled up with tears of happiness. "I can't believe it…" She whispered.

"Nor can I."

"It's happened so quickly…"

"I know…"

"We should book a doctor's appointment to check."

Tina thought that it was best to double check. Her mum wasn't the most reliable person in the world but the evidence given was quite convincing. In actuality she also thought that she had heard pleasured groans on the phone but she wasn't sure what it was exactly. Now that she knew, it was hard to ignore the fact that Orihime could possibly be pregnant.

"That would be a good idea, but we already know she's with a child so it won't really be as joyful as it is now."

"Do you think Ulquiorra knows?"

"No. He's a dummy when it comes to things like this, even if you drop hints!" Hana exclaimed.

Tina frowned, "You think Orihime's having a hard time trying to break the news to him?"

"Definitely. We should give her a hand."Hana suggested with a leer.

Concerned for Orihime and Ulquiorra, Tina objected loudly, "No! We must let her do it herself!"

Hana sighed, like her hopes and dreams had faded away, "I suppose so…"

"Well then!" Tina clapped her hands and rubbed them together, "Let's get booking!"

**…**

"ULQUIORRA! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Miss Inoue, this is the second time I've held you above the pool like this, I find it hard that you'll still be scared." He had his grin on again.

Just a minute ago he was gargling for air begging Orihime to stop when she purposely held his head down beneath the water, she was laughing and having fun as well but now it seemed the table had flipped again. She was the one who was begging and he was the one who was enjoying himself.

"Let me go!"

He hummed, "Hmmm…that's a very bad choice of words."

At first she was confused but then realised that she was dangling above the water and Ulquiorra was the only thing holding her in the position she was in now. If he let go she'd land straight in the water. Panicking she inched closer to Ulquiorra's chest and tightened her hold on his neck, "Don't you dare let me go!"

He laughed, "I wouldn't dream of it, you'd splash all the water out of my lovely pool!"

She glared at him long and hard and then softened her venomous look when he spoke, "You know. Today was quite fun… I actually enjoyed myself."

"Yeah. When you're with me there's _no way_ you can't enjoy yourself."

He chuckled, "I'm going to remember this for a long time."

Orihime flopped her head against his chest, exhausted from all the swimming, "So am I."

"Miss Inoue. You're heavy…"

The glare on her face returned, "Hey! You jerk!" She raised one hand to hit him when he suddenly shouted out, "Hit me and I'll chuck you in!"

She stopped and ground her molars together, resisting the urge to punch him but it didn't stop her from warning him, "Fuck me and I'll kill you…"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened at her sentence, shocked his hands slipped and let Orihime fall into the pool. Before his brain could even calculate the situation Orihime was already in the water, soaking wet again and getting ready to wage war against him.

"Miss Inoue!"

"Why the HELL DID YOU CHUCK ME IN?"She snapped loudly.

"You shocked me!"

"What the hell did I do?"

"You said 'Fuck me and I'll kill you'."

"What?" She pulled a face like he'd gone mad, "I never said that. I said '_Chuck_ me and I'll kill you'.

For a moment Ulquiorra's mind went blank, he blinked a couple of times allowing himself to digest the information. He turned stiff like a pole, "Forgive me. I misheard you…" He began backing away, keeping his eyes glued on his angered wife. He could see waves of anger fuming out from her body… he was in trouble, big trouble…

"Ulquiorra…"

After the way she called his name he bolted into a sprint back to the villa.

"ULQUIORRA! GET YOUR SORRY BUTT BACK HERE!" She leapt out of the water and chased after him waving balled up fists in the air, she'd be making sure that she'd hunt him down no matter what. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

Neither of them seemed to notice that a girl was peering over the garden from the other side the wall. Her amber eyes swivelled left to right making sure that the path was free before she hoisted herself up and over the brick wall. She landed on her two feet perfectly and brushed the dirt of her hands. Her eyes picked out the diamond badge that Orihime and Ulquiorra had left behind at the edge of the pool and she walked over, bent down and scooped it up before pocketing it in her trouser pockets. Her eyes wandered to Ulquiorra and she smiled. He still looked the same as before and she was almost tempted to call his name when she caught sight of Orihime. She gasped remembering that she'd encountered Orihime once at the airport. If she recalled correctly, the auburn girl had said she was married and was staying over at her husband's villa for a honey moon, did it mean that she was married to Ulquiorra?

The girl shook her head and backed away slowly, unable to accept the sight before her. Ulquiorra would never fall in love with another, he had said so himself…so why was he with this woman?

She watched as Orihime was tackled down by Ulquiorra onto the grass, he was straddling her and his hand pinned her arms down above her head. For a moment he hovered above her and his lips moved to say something. She watched as Orihime's eyes widen dramatically before Ulquiorra bent down and kissed her softly on the lips, her eyes could pick out every single detail from the blades of grass that surrounded the auburn headed beauty to the water dews that balanced perfectly on her eyelashes.

The girl backed away again and clenched her teeth in hatred and then she fled, careful not to disturb the couple who were just a few meters away from her. Like a ghost, in a matter of seconds, she disappeared completely, leaving no trace of her visit behind…

* * *

A/N: Hmmmmmm... not the best chapter I've written but I personally think the ending with Ulquihime in was sweet. I bet you readers were able to guess correctly who the girl was...if not, well lets just say you'll have a hard time keeping up with the drama that's going to happen. Hana and Tina are under the impression that their beloved daughter/grandaughter in law is pregnant! What do you make of that? and What's going to happen when Orihime get back? I can garentee that the next chapters will be packed with drama, some may contain humour but thats for me to know and you to find out! Until then CHAO!


	20. You and I

**A/N: Hello everybody! I am soooooo tired, I swear I look like L from deathnote (LOL)! Anywayz, this chapter title doesn't refer to the other parts of the chapter, it only refers to the first and if you're asking why, it's because I am too lazy to think of a good one (I'm joking, I spent all night and couldn't find a legitimate one .) Can't think of a song at the moment. Sorry for the crappy contents (Ahhh, my daily apologizing...) and late update. Well don't just hang around here! Scroll down and read!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 20 – You and I**

"I like you…I like you a lot more than should be."

Orihime's eye widened so much she swore her eyeballs were going to pop out. The sensation in her chest was almost…burning? He actually confronted her properly with a confession! Her breathing was no longer at an even pace, they became ragged and more desperate especially when Ulquiorra bent down, his face which was now inches away from hers. Like reflexes her eyelids began to shut and then she could feel the sensation of lips against her own. It was a soft kiss but as soon as those heavenly lips touched her own, she could once again feel that jolt of electricity running down her spine making her arch her back off the grass slightly. She deepened the kiss and Ulquiorra released her arms wrapping his own around her arched waist, Orihime let her hand roam into his black hair, as she began to lift herself up and then the kiss was broken when Ulquiorra pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open to see what was wrong and caught his expression of confusion and guilt.

"Ulquiorra-"

Before she was finished with her question he answered almost immediately, "I'm sorry…I'm not myself today."

She propped herself up onto her elbows, "What?"

He got to his feet and avoided Orihime's eyes the whole time. "We shouldn't-" he began.

"'We shouldn't' what Ulquiorra?" She demanded, almost angry at herself for faltering at that very moment but mostly angry that Ulquiorra was the one who seemed to regret what just had happened. He was confusing her…

"We…no, I shouldn't…"

"What? I don't understand!"

"I promised…"

"If this about the contract, screw it." She was so angry she could even hear the anger rising in her own voice. What was holding Ulquiorra back? He liked her and she was pretty sure she felt the same way. He was a man and she was a woman and they were _alone_, wasn't that enough for him? Only one name came to mind…Sakura Takahashi. He would never get over her would he? She would always be the barrier in between him and herself.

"It's because of Sakura isn't it?"

He nodded very slowly in a guilty way, "I'm sorry…"

She clenched her teeth and then forced the next words out of her mouth, "I hate you."

The clouds began to gather around from nowhere, blocking out the bright sun and soon the whole world seemed to be encased in darkness. He was emotionless as usual but he was definitely hurt by her words, he really did like Orihime and he wanted her for his own but he had made a promise. He had promised himself, after Sakura had broken up with him, that he wouldn't ever fall in love with someone. That was why he was emotionless and never in a relationship… it was because he was scared to break his fragile heart again. "It's really not what you think! I don't want you to feel that way…"

She scrambled to her feet and glared, "You may not, but I do!"

"Why?"

She hissed, "Why is it you as well that has to break my heart? It's already been crumbled by Ichigo, and now you want have a go too? I hate men like you, always living in the past and never moving forwards." She tried hard not to cry so he bit her lips just hard enough to make it bleed a little.

"No, I don't intend to break your-"

"I've had enough of lies and crying over you. You can just screw the agreement!" She yelled as she stormed back inside, slamming the door as hard as she could before making her way to the bathroom to get changed.

Once she was alone she slumped against the door and sat down before she began to reflect on her actions.

She didn't hate him, she hated herself and the more she thought about what she said to him the more she began to feel sorry. It wasn't his fault that he was like this, deep inside she knew that he was like herself, people with broken hearts just wanting to have a normal life where you'd fall in love, get married and then have a family. Ulquiorra didn't show much emotions but the little things he did showed that he really cared and it was most effective when he was composing music, be it violin, piano, flute, any instrument he was still able to show how he felt.

She peered outside the bathroom window, he wasn't out there and then she sighed when it began to rain heavily, turning the patio into a river.

"This isn't much of a honeymoon…" She whispered to herself. She glanced at the clock on the wall, it was already 4pm dinner was at 6 and it didn't sound like Charlie was cooking or preparing yet. She realised she'd been in the bathroom for over 15 minutes and she hadn't changed yet. Getting up she picked her clothes that hung on the towel rack and began to change, once she was done she felt a little embarrassed to face Ulquiorra so she carefully made her way towards the door. She opened the bathroom door slowly and peeked through the gap to see if Ulquiorra was there. He wasn't, she huffed in relief and strolled out into the bedroom and then made her way through the hallway.

She passed the music room, the door was closed but the sight was replaced with music she'd never heard before. It was beautiful and yet it could sound so sad if you thought about it long and hard. Orihime turned to the door and reached out a hand for the handle, but then reined it back towards her chest. She wasn't ready to face him just yet and so she resumed back to her task of finding Charlie, letting the beautiful music slip away into the distance.

As soon as she reached the kitchen, she found it was empty. No one was there, just a small piece of paper clipped onto the fridge. Orihime ripped it off and read the contents; according to the note Charlie had left to get some ingredients for tonight's dinner and he'd be back between 45 minutes and 1 hour.

Orihime sighed and placed the note down onto the desk before making her way back to the bedroom to take her daily nap again she passed the music room which was now filled with a different piece, trying hard to ignore it she strolled further down into the hall and into the bedroom. The sight of the room wasn't very pleasing because of the large glass doors showing the moody weather outside. Orihime could see that it was really beginning to pour down like a water fall and the clouds were _black_ like ash. She shut the curtains shrouding the room in darkness and blocking out the view outside. Orihime reached over to the side and switched on a lamp nearby but it didn't seem to be working. She flicked at the switch again, still no sign of light.

"Great…a power cut…" She cursed. Then a flash of light shone from the other side of the curtains, Orihime peered through the gap of the curtains and outside. The hairs on her back began to stick up, there was nothing in sight so that could only mean…

The sound of loud cracking boomed into the world. Orihime let out a petrified squeak and bolted for the wardrobe yanking the door open and leaping in without a second thought. Another light flashed and Orihime clutched onto her ears not wanting to hear the sound of thunder following after it. She curled up into a ball with her hands clutched onto her head and slumped down onto her butt.

She'd never told anyone of her fear of thunder. She never used to be scared from a young age but on the day her parents died she could clearly remember that on that particular day it was a stormy and thundery night. Another reason to add to her fear of thunder was that she'd remember snippets of what happened to her parents but strangely when the thunder storms were over she'd forget. Another flash of lightning and Orihime could remember herself as a young child lying next to her father's deadly white corpse, minutes after a shooting.

"No…"

The sound of thunder followed like it should and an image appeared of her mother lying on the ground in a beautiful sky blue kimono stained in crimson blood, face pale white with her silver eyes wide, unmoving and staring at her daughter.

Orihime clutched onto her head and closed her eyes, curling up into a smaller ball. The thunder storm would soon be over, and she'd soon forget everything, she kept telling herself this, sometimes it helped her endure the storm and other times it wasn't as helpful. At times like this, in her apartment, she'd curl up into a ball underneath her bed with a blanket around her head. The thunder struck again but this time she could hear the bedroom door swing open in the background. She let out a whimper of fear hoping not to be heard and then she could hear the voice of her saviour once more, "Orihime?"

She didn't say anything, for she knew that he knew where she was. There was a couple of soft footsteps heading towards her direction and then it stopped, there was a rattle of the wardrobe doors, "Miss Inoue? Are you in there?"

Again she refused to answer and closed her eyes as if she didn't know anybody was there… _It'll be over soon…_

"Miss Inoue, you can't stay in there. Come out." His voice wasn't demanding or commanding, he sounded like he was urging her.

"I-I don't want to…" her voice trembled.

"Could you… are you possibly scared of thunder?" He rattled at the wardrobe doors again, trying to get them to open so he could get to Orihime. "You can't hide in there; surely it's darker and scarier if you're alone in there."

"It's alright." She finally whispered out, curling her toes up and tightened the hug around her knees.

"What?"

"I've always done this since I was a child at the orphanage. It's fine, I'll be okay when the storm is done."

"It's not fine, you need to come out, it's not good for you to be in there." He rattled at the door's once more hoping that this time they'd open. The thunder struck again and Orihime gave out a startled yelp. Ulquiorra frowned, "Miss Inoue, please come out…"

"I'll come out when the thunder storm is over."

"But you're scared. I need to help you…"

The thunder struck once more and Orihime was unable to take anymore, she leapt out of the wardrobe and into his arms knocking him down to the ground. It didn't hurt, what really hurt was the simple fact that he hurt Orihime. She was right, he was a fool to live in the past and now the damage was already done. She hated him… or at least he thought she did…

"It's alright, I'm here for you."

"I thought you'd be angry at me." She mumbled, head buried against his chest, shielding her angelic face away from his sight, not that he could see much in the dark anyway. She flinched slightly when the thunder struck yet again, her hands tightened onto his shirt as she clutched it with a sense of desperateness and need.

"I could never be angry at you."

She paused to consider the fact and then replied, "Alright then, I thought you'd be upset."

"I am upset."

"Che…"

"I'm upset because you're upset and I really don't like it if you hate me, because I simply couldn't live knowing this one fact." He stated quickly as he stared up at the ceiling.

Orihime shifted against his chest, "I don't hate you."

"You don't?"

"No. When I'm angry I lie."

"That's a pretty straight forward answer."

She breathed a heavy sigh against his chest, almost like huffing and then when the thunder struck her body froze completely, going rigid against his own. Of course the change in body language didn't go unnoticed, "Why is it you fear thunder?"

She paused and answered quietly, "My parents died on a night like this… and I often get flashbacks."

He didn't say anymore, afraid that he'd just upset her to a further extent. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and rolled her onto the carpet so that she was lying at the bottom whilst he was above. Orihime could just make out his green eyes in the darkness staring back at hers and then he suddenly leant down to dip his nose in her auburn locks.

"What are you doing?" it was hard not to stutter, especially of a person you liked had their face right beside your own, but she had somehow managed to make herself sound normal.

"I'm going to tell you that I like you."

Orihime flushed a bit, "But I know already…"

"Then I'll tell you again to make up for all the heartbreak's I've caused you to have." There was a long pause which seemed like hours and then finally, "I like you."

At once the thunderstorms ceased. Orihime was very much lost for words, unable to say anything or think properly. Though he had said it twice it never had the same effect, there was always different emotions that ran through her mind. This time her heart stopped beating altogether and she didn't know how to breathe anymore. She already seemed to have forgotten about her traumatisation with thunder.

"Orihime…" the name rolled of his tongue like silk, he breathed softly against her neck, "just this once I would like to call you by your first name." It was almost demanding the way he said it, at the same time it was soft. She could feel his lips pressed onto her throat and she sucked in as much air as she could without him noticing. "Let me slowly fall in love with you…"

Words truly could not describe her feelings. Her heart…it felt…magical. Her lips froze in a rounded o shape as she tried to urge the words out.

What would Hana and Tina say about _this_ situation? And then she let out a small laugh. Ulquiorra pulled back, surprised by her reaction and was he really not romantic at all?

She coughed and turned to Ulquiorra with a smile, he frowned, "Miss Inoue, what is it about me that you find humorous when I am trying to act in a…romantic gesture?"

She gave out another small laugh, "It's not you. I was just thinking…what would Hana and Tina make of this?"

He blinked multiple times, unable to understand what her point was.

"We're on the carpet…and you're telling me that you like me. We're really turning into a married couple aren't we?"

"I do not see what is so funny."

"It's just this whole situation…it's barbaric and I'm not even sure that it even makes sense. That's just what's so funny."

"Hmmm."

The door slammed from down the hallway. Orihime turned to Ulquiorra and Ulquiorra turned to Orihime, both with grins on their faces, "Charlie's back."

She laughed, "So who's going to tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

"That we're now officially in a relationship."

Ulquiorra smiled, "Are you telling me that you like me too?"

She tapped him on the forehead and stuck a face at him, "What else? Dumbass…"

Ulquiorra chuckled and buried his head in the crook of her neck, "How about we just let him walk in on us?"

"You're evil."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"You're manipulative."

"Want to try again?"

"You're pissing me off."

He lifted his head up to get a good look at her face, "And you've got anger issues that I want you to sort out."

She huffed, "Way to spoil my mood jerk."

He grinned. "I like you." He repeated. She blushed and he laughed, "I guess that means you're feeling better?"

She turned her head away, "No."

Ulquiorra smiled softly but before he could say anything else the door of their room opened. The two lovers looked up and found Charlie staring back with shock just besides the door. The two eyes from low down met the ancient ones that stared back from the doorway. Charlie's face looked like he wanted to say something at the same time it was almost like he was embarrassed. Boy would they have to do a lot of explaining. Orihime and Ulquiorra both lift one hand up without noticing the other was doing the same and at the same time they spoke, "Hello."

**…**

"What tha fuck is this Kurosaki!"

"I'm sure there is a logical explanation. There has to be, it's not like Orihime would actually-"

"THERE IS NO FUCKIN EXPLANATION FOR THIS! YOU EXPECT ME TO COME AND BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA ULQUIORRA AN' THEN I FIND OUT THA ORIHIME IS PREGNANT WITH THA BASTARDS BABY!"

Ichigo went silent, for he had nothing to say. He'd gotten the news from Rukia first thing in the morning and his ears nearly fell off due to shock. It didn't make any sense at all. The contract had clearly outlined that there'd be no sexual intimacy and yet Orihime was with a child. It was impossible and he had asked Rukia if she hadn't heard the news wrong. But then Rukia had said that Ulquiorra's grandmother had spread the news. He hadn't exactly gotten the full story but it wasn't really _confirmed_ Orihime was pregnant. Apparently Ulquiorra's mum, who was more level headed to say the least, wasn't really believing herself that Orihime would be with a child so quickly and so she had arranged for a doctor's appointment first thing when Orihime returned. Until then Orihime's status remained unknown until confirmed, however if the grandma was already spreading words around wouldn't it be true?

Ichigo had decided in a change of plan if Orihime really was pregnant and so he had gone to explain it to Grimmjow, in hopes that the blue headed man would be swayed to join forces. In fact the blue headed giant hadn't really taken in the news in a good way. Right now according to one of the maids, Nel, Grimmjow was in a 'calm' state to be listening. Ichigo thought he was angry now but previously Grimmjow had gone and smashed up a couple of tables, threw a few glasses, done some yelling at his maids, swiped a few punches at the wall and totally trashed an armchair. Now _that_ was when Grimmjow was mildly angry. This man was vicious. So…what would he be like if he was beyond angry?

Ichigo gulped and then replied in a shaky voice, "I have another plan."

Grimmjow threw his fists down onto the table and yelled, "DAMN RIGHT YOU BETTER HAVE A PLAN, I AIN'T GONNA BUY THIS SHIT IF THIS IS REALLY THA TRUTH! THIRTY SECONDS TA EXPLAIN. NOW!"

Ichigo took a deep breath trying his hardest to ignore the electric blue eyes that were glaring at him full of hate, "Okay…Listen. When Orihime and Ulquiorra get back from their honeymoon Orihime won't be around because she'd be going to get an appointment. That leaves us with Ulquiorra alone so we can talk to him."

"I don see how this is helping Kurosaki…" Grimmjow warned. "Twenty five seconds before I shoot yer ass!"

Ichigo continued on bravely, "Once we're alone with Ulquiorra we'll threaten to expose his contract if he doesn't let us have a chance with Orihime."

"How d'ya mean?" All anger seemed to have left Grimmjow as he became more absorbed into the conversation.

Ichigo let out a small sigh of relief and continued on, "What I mean is that all three of us will get to spend an equal amount of time with Orihime. We'll split the days up between us, on those days Orihime will be one of ours for the whole day. Until the remaining five months is up we'll have a chance in the running's to gain her heart."

"There's seven days in a week. Who gets the seventh?"

"We fight for it."

"How?"

"Through Orihime. We'll get her to pick a piece of jewellery that satisfies her tastes. Each one of those jewels will be brought by each of us and whichever jewel she picks, the buyer will get to spend the seventh day with."

It went quiet, except for the sounds of the water running in the kitchen and the constant yelling of Loly.

Grimmjow considered the thought for a moment. It seemed like a good plan and Kurosaki was fairly confident in it, so how bad could it be? If it succeeded, the prize would be Orihime. If he failed…well he'd just take all his anger out on Kurosaki so either way there'd be no loss.

"How d'ya know if this'll work?"he demanded as if he wanted to know if it would fail.

"It will." Ichigo replied boldly.

"Ulquiorra's not an idiot ya know."

"I know. I'm fairly certain I'll work. It's literally the same technique as blackmail anyway."

Grimmjow paused again to consider the advantages and disadvantages but realised there was no disadvantage. The puzzles all seemed to fit perfectly and then after a while he breathed out heavily, leaning over to Ichigo. "Yer got yerself a deal Kurosaki…"

**…**

"No, no, no, Charlie. We're just going to be in a girlfriend boyfriend relationship."

Charlie frowned at Orihime, "I'm not sure that's any different from being a fake married couple."

Ulquiorra sipped his green tea calmly, "I understand how you feel Charlie. It's very complicated but I truly do like Orihime."

"Then why not just be married for real now?"

Orihime glanced over at Ulquiorra. Charlie made a good point. Orihime smiled at Ulquiorra softly and took a hold of his hand, "Well. We're not really sure if it'll work out. Besides I'm not actually ready to be married yet."

Ulquiorra turned to her, "You're not?"

"Not really in a hurry."

"I thought you were desperate."

She slapped him at the back of his head and scowled, "Just because I married you doesn't mean I'm desperate." Then she turned to Charlie, "Charlie, think of it in a good way. We actually like each other so wouldn't that just make our marriage more realistic and make Hana even happier?"

The old butler frowned, "Hmmm…I guess when you put it that way it sort of helps things."

"You see? If our relationship works…then we'll just see how I feel about marriage and of course," She paused and shot a glance over to her partner, "Ulquiorra would have to propose."

Ulquiorra shot back a look of indignation but continued to sip his green herbal tea in a calm manner.

"I can see how that would work… but then what will happen if it goes downhill?"

Orihime bit her lip, "I'm not sure."

Ulquiorra cut in, "We'll figure something out. I'm pretty certain this relationship will be stable." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiled. She smiled back and gave a response squeeze.

Charlie sighed and stood up from his chair. He clapped his hands, "Well, I've had enough news today, how about we get dinner ready now?"

"Dinner would be great." Orihime grinned.

"Want to help?"

"What're we having?"

"Spaghetti bolognaise and apple crumble."

Orihime licked her lips unconsciously at the thought, "Sounds good."

"Going to lend me a hand then?"

"Sure I don't see what's so hard about-"

Ulquiorra cut in instantly, "No!"

Orihime and Charlie both turned to Ulquiorra who's eye were wide with fear. Orihime frowned, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"It's not a good idea that you cook."

"Why?"

"Last time you tried you put too much salt and burnt the food-"

She rolled her eyes and let a lie slip out sarcastically, "I was doing that on purpose…"

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine! I wasn't paying attention."

"You started from nine in the morning till seven in the afternoon."

"I couldn't be assed to check the food properly." She replied bitterly. Every time she came up with an excuse he always found a way to counteract it. Damn to hell with his intelligence!

"You spent your whole time in the kitchen cursing about how the flavours weren't right."

She let out a groan of defeat. Charlie decided to throw her a life ring, "Well, it couldn't hurt to learn could it?"

"Charlie. You don't understand, when she cooks it's like she puts all her hatred into it."

"That's not a nice thing to say to your wife!" Orihime snapped.

"_Partner_." He corrected.

"Girlfriend."

"_Companion_."He corrected again.

"Whatever you jerk!" She threw her hands into the air and turned away.

Charlie chimed in with a smile, "Ulquiorra, why not let her give it another go…she might be good at making spaghetti. Who knows?.."

"Absolutely not." He was refusing to let her cook. One day she was bound to kill someone with her poisonous method including himself. Orihime gave him one last could glare and sulked off into the kitchen, not bothering to listen to her spouses complaints. She was going to cook whether he liked it or not and if he didn't eat she'd force feed him.

"Then why don't you teach her?" Charlie advised after she was gone.

"That's!" Ulquiorra was going to exclaim out that it was impossible and then he paused to think about it in more detail, "That's…not a bad idea…"

Charlie smiled. As usual he was always happy to help his master. "Well then I shall take my leave."

"Where are you going Charlie?"

"I am leaving Orihime in the capable hands of you."

"But she'll kill me." He joked.

"I feel it is something that you two should work on alone. Say no more Ulquiorra, I shall take my leave now." Charlie dutifully bowed and turned to leave. He stopped in his tracks halfway through, "But Ulquiorra… I advise you to keep Miss Inoue safe. You know what happened back then don't you." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A threatening one at the most.

Ulquiorra frowned, "So it's clarified that she's back."

Charlie nodded slightly, "Indeed. It was said she was sent to the institute when Daichi was set to be engaged to Hikari but was released when she completed the training five years ago."

"So what's been keeping her sane these years?"

"Knowing that you still wanted her."

"I've moved on. Has she not heard?"

Charlie continued to make his way out of the villa, Ulquiorra closely following behind and then he whispered out something as he walked out into the darkened streets, "You'd better hope she hasn't…

* * *

A/N: Ohhhhhhhhhhh, this is getting tense! Ichigo's new plan, more info on Sakura, Orihime's fragile life possible in danger and Ulquiorra's warming heart. What more can you get in one chapter? You know what to do next (if it isn't obvious I strongly advise that you get help LOL)!


	21. Last Day

**A/N: Well hello my good people! It has certainly been a while since my last update...*restraining myself from apologizing*...I would like to say, yeesh, screw it; I'm sorry for the late update! What can I say... well this chapter is a lot shorter than most of the others but I hope the contents will be satisfying. Word of very late warning...I WILL NOT WRITE LEMON IN THIS STORY, HOWEVER I WILL BE RELATIVELY CLOSE TO ONE! SORRY! It's just that writing lemon makes me feel sinful (even though I'm not that religious) and very very dirty. At some point in _other_ story's I might try but since this is my first fanfic I feel it'd be best to leave it very sweet and limey, just not lemon. SORRY! I hope you will forgive me and understand what I'm getting at! Until then...byeeeeee!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach...If I did who knows what messed up story line I'd try to put in! XD.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 21- Last Day**

It hadn't been her intention to be in this situation. Her body backed up against the cold fridge door whilst her partner's body nailed her own down with both his hands beside her head whilst he kissed her with so much passion letting her hands slip through his hair. No, it hadn't, but who could ignore fate? He wasn't really the lovey dovey type of person to be snogging the shit out of someone but just last night after Charlie left them on their own he just couldn't seem to get enough of her lips and seized any opportunity they had alone together. Orihime thanked God that Ulquiorra, unlike some people, still had his morals to live by and that they hadn't made it all the way to the bed yet.

"Ulquiorra…" She let out a small gasp as his body jerked a little pinning her a little harder onto the fridge door.

He didn't listen and set a trail of butterfly kisses on her throat. She let out another gasp when his body pressed even harder against her own. Definitely more needy than before and his kisses were becoming hard and unforgiving. He was probably going to leave several hickeys if he continued.

"…We should be cooking…"

He let out a grunt of annoyance but continued with his rough yet gentle actions. Her eyes were only slightly lidded but she still felt ashamed to let herself be taken over so easily. He hadn't even touched her in the right places yet but he was still able to cause such reactions from just kissing her. Pulling herself together she very slowly removed her hands from his hair and softly cupped his cheeks, "Stop…We've only just started this relationship and you're already doing all this!"

He frowned, "If I remember correctly it was you who made me like this."

She sighed in defeat. Yeah it was her fault. She had fed him some newly bought chocolates claiming she didn't want any herself as she savagely mashed up the potatoes but then she became curious about the taste of the brown indulgent stuff seeing how Ulquiorra kept going back for nibbles and so she abandoned the cooking, nailed him roughly against the door and kissed him swiping some of the chocolate traces from his lips. From there she just kept going until Ulquiorra got fed up of being nailed down and decided to reverse the situation inevitably settling down to pinning her against the fridge with his body restraining any of her movements.

"Let me finish off what you started."

She groaned, "No." Boyfriends could be real jack assess when it came to intimacy.

"We've only got today left as a proper day as a couple in Langkawi."

"Ulquiorra, you're so demanding!"

He smirked, "What about you Miss Priss?"

"Don't call me that!" She snapped. Recently he had taken in into calling her names which he said were endearments in disguise. If she didn't know any better he was only doing it for fun or payback for all the 'crimes'- as he would call it - she'd committed against him.

"I'll stop when you let me finish."

She groaned again, "Go ahead…"

"You don't sound very willing."

"Because I'm _not_." There was a tone in her voice that said she was lying. Ulquiorra smirked at her, pleased he managed to pick it up, and then he stole another kiss from her.

She rolled her eyes, "You still taste of chocolate and…Stop stealing my kisses!"

He chuckled, "Don't tell me you don't enjoy it because I know you'd be lying."

"So much for the contract rule…" She murmured to herself. "It's a disaster when you madly have a crush on someone…you just won't stop or listen will you?"

"I don't intend to stop. I said I liked you too much but you didn't listen carefully."

She gave him a puzzled look and scrunched up her nose, "What's that got to do with anything?"

He sighed softly and brushed some of her aside, tucking it behind her ears, "I'm only going to do this here but when we get back to America I'm not going to be like this often."

She snorted and pasted on a smug look on her face, "Why? Scared mummy's going to catch you doing something naughty?"

He smirked and leaned over to steal another kiss when Orihime placed her index fingers against his lips. He stared at her finger for a while and his eyes swivelled to meet hers. She gave him a cruel torturous smile, "No more stealing without my consent."

He backed his head away from her fingers to give her a glare, "I'm not stealing. You're letting me do this and now I want to finish."

He leant over, which Orihime knew meant that he was going for another try. She ducked and escaped from the caging of his arms and swiftly turned and landed to sit on the kitchen table giving him a joyous look. He only gave her a cold look in return, removed his hand off the fridge and placed them back into his pockets with a sigh. It was amazing what the auburn headed beauty could do to him, everything about her was just so tempting. But he wasn't the type to rush into a relationship, he of course showed his affection for her but at the same time he was being cautious, observing her every move. They were playing a dangerous game when it came to love and it had already been proven with each of them, there was no reason that danger could spring up again. But so far she was proving herself worthy of his time and affection, though it was still a good idea to be cautious…

She grinned at his moody face, "What shall we do now?"

"I wouldn't know." He huffed turning to one of the cabinets and opening it.

She watched as he brought out some of the most unusual food items, more over he just seemed to be picking at random. "Movie?" she suggested.

"There's nothing on tonight."He stated monotonely.

She seated herself fully on the table and let her feet dangle loosely off the edge. She stared at the ground and the strange almost invisible patterns of the marble floor and then she came up with an idea, "Twister?"

Ulquiorra almost drop the contents in his hands but he regained a tight grip on it and placed it down on the kitchen counter. He gave her a funny look, "I'm sorry…Did you say _Twister_?" The tone in his voice was unbelieving and the way he emphasized 'Twister' was slightly distorted.

She smiled and jumped of the table, swinging her arms playfully, "Yeah. I saw it hidden somewhere in the library." Orihime herself hadn't known that Ulquiorra had a library until she became curious as to how Charlie always had a new book to read and so she had followed him into a small library. There were millions of books all stacked on thousands of shelves. Too many to go through in one day. Orihime ran her fingers along the spines of books out of curiosity to how it would feel and she came across a stash of games. Twister was the one that lay on the top.

Ulquiorra shook his head, "Absolutely not…"

"Why not?"

"First of all, I will not allow myself to be humiliated by you because you caught me in absolutely obscene and ridiculous positions."

Orihime let out a groan and suddenly found her finger nails interesting. She began picking at the loose skin lightly with her thumb nail.

"Second of all Gran tried this game-"

Orihime spluttered out into a laugh, instantly losing interest in her fingers, she clutched onto her stomach as if trying to bar something from coming out, "Hana is outrageous!"

Ulquiorra creased his forehead, annoyed she hadn't taken his words seriously, "For your information, she _broke her back_. More than once I would like to add."

Orihime stopped laughing regaining her postures and cleared her throat hoping it would be a good enough…apology? "Oh. How did she take it?"

"She was hospitalized for a number of days."

"Oh." Orihime felt slightly guilty.

"But she was stubborn and refused to quit playing, even now we still have to restrain her from doing it again."

Orihime bit her lip. No…he wasn't helping her situation. The image of Hana caught in the crab position was disturbing yet slightly amusing. If only she'd been there to witness the scene. There were still other chances though and as she began to plan through possible dates and plans for these things to happen she began to wonder about other things Hana would possible do. Perhaps Hana could do the limbo; Orihime would finally be able to witness the funniest thing on earth, I mean what could be better than that?

"This is why I never play Twister."

Orihime wasn't going to give up yet; she grabbed his arm and began with the begging, "Please? We'll never do it again after this!" It was a white lie, but she just had to get him to play.

He coldly shrugged her off, "Absolutely not."

"Please!" She pleaded gripping onto his arm with a stronger grip. If she didn't know any better she could've sworn her nails were digging into his skin.

"No."

"When will you?"

"Never."

**…**

"Gin… Where have you been all this time?" Her voice was barely a whisper; her shoulders slumped low and lazily with a soft sky blue blanket hanging loosely around them. The steam arising from her freshly brewed coffee hit her face instantly warming up her cheeks, her hands tightened around the white mug in her hands. The silver headed man frowned, unable to answer her question and then softly he leaned over the table to get in closer range of the strawberry blonds hearing.

"I already told ya. I went ta tha military."

It seemed slow the way he answered, like the whole world was going to pause, she pressed her knees harder against the other, "I don't believe you."

"You never have." He replied simply. She looked up at him through tears and then he reached out to place his hands over hers, "Rangiku…I've never wanted ta hurt you. Tha's why I couldn' put you in trouble with tha officials. It's better tha you don't get involved with me."

She gritted her teeth, "Gin. You could've at least called…" Her voice was rising unstably and she tried to force the next words out so he could understand clearly, "I thought you were dead!" Then she burst out into a fit of tears, letting her shoulders slump even lower to the point where the blanket began slipping off. "Y-you said, y-you loved m-me ..." the words were broken up as she tried to talk through her hiccups, Gin, if possible found himself feeling below miserable as he watched in horror as the love of his life sobbed her heart out once again. She shut her eyes tightly trying to stop herself from spilling anymore tears, "b-but y-you left…"

It had only been almost a week since he bumped into her on the streets. She wasn't drunk, in fact she was heartbroken and it didn't take him long to know why. He spotted the photo album he'd given her, wedged in her bag. At once he knew that her heart was in pain, she was distraught, broken and in a bloody right _state._

Gin had told her once again he loved her to set her heart at piece and he'd taken her to his flat so she could get some sleep seeing how she was an easy sufferer of insomnia and had a severe case of black bags under her eyes which meant that she probably hadn't slept in days. Why she chose now to start with the crying? He didn't know, but perhaps it was just destined by God for these 'coincidences' to happen.

After he'd taken her to his apartment he found it hard to let her go and so he had prayed that she would stay…and she did. They hadn't done anything though. Rangiku had spent most of her time sobbing, demanding why Gin never called or tried to contact her and each time he'd give her the same answer. All week she had only been able to say a few words and the most common one, his name. It was like she was trying to make up for the lost times he hadn't been around to say 'I love you' or vice versa. Perhaps she was just trying to say his name as many times as she could, like she knew she was never going to see him ever again and that she was trying to fit in a whole lifetime of saying his name into roughly a week.

He really did love her, truly, but he had to maintain a distance from her for specific reasons.

Firstly, he was wanted criminal. The rumours going around about his sacking was all a cover up story made up by district 1's captain, in fact what really was going on was that Captain Aizen, Captain Tousen and himself were all involved with a stealing of a top secret file and they had made a runner for it. Gin then reckoned that the story of his accidental 'killing' was also a cover-up to keep the public from thinking the government system was bad. Secondly, Captain Aizen was a dangerous man. Gin had known first hand from many of the secret killing's Aizen had committed because he had been there to witness it happen. Though Gin was no longer acquainted with this man (he had decided to disband from the evil ways after finding out Aizen's ulterior motives), he knew of the plots Aizen was planning. True he could save the districts some time by giving the plot away and Aizen's hideouts but then he'd still be branded as a traitor and killed on the spot. He was originally planning to actually end his life by going there to die nobly and set things right but seeing as how Rangiku had not recovered properly from his last supposed death and how she now knew where he was hiding he doubted that he could do that a second time. She had suffered from his actions and these were the consequences he had to face. If only Rangiku understood his situation it would be easier to brush her aside, but how could he tell her? If she knew she too would be in trouble with the government officials and killed, why must she die for his mistakes? It would be a selfish act.

Rangiku sniffed, breaking Gin's train of thoughts. He leant over the table closer to her lowered head, "Ran, I reckon I love ya more than anythin' else, yer my ever'thin' and I don think I can live without ya, but I can't tell ya what's going on, it'll be risking yer life and I don want you ta die. When tha times right and I've cleared up tha mess I'll tell ya what's really going on so yer won have ta suffer anymore…"

"Gin…"

"I'm telling ya, don get involved with me anymore."He warned and then he kissed her softly on her forehead. Her cheeks were still wet from flooding tears; he brushed some of her hair aside and looked her in the eye, "Please Ran, for me?"

"Gin…"

He wiped the tear tracks and cupped her cheeks, "Stay for tonigh' but you must leave by tomorrow."

She touched his hands with a brush of her fingertips, she was prepared to say his name again when he stopped her predictable actions, "Promise me ya won' come afta me."

She couldn't understand what he was trying to do, she couldn't let him go again, but the fear reflected in his eyes was enough for her to make this one promise, "I – I will try…"

He frowned, "Thank you." He softly bent down to kiss her lips, letting it linger for a while.

As soon as he broke away, her eyes fluttered open, "Gin…I love you."

"Me too. Always have an' always will…"

**…**

Ulquiorra did not know how or why he was currently in the crab position. It had seemed Orihime succeeded in making him play the twister game. How she did it, he did not know. What he did know was that the auburn head princess was towering above him and that his eyes met an obscene area on her body, the chest.

Orihime reached her hand over to the spinner and gave it a flick. As soon as the spinner stopped she announced Ulquiorra's next move in a strained voice, "Right foot red."

He couldn't believe it, "Excuse me? My right foots on the green, it's not possible."

"Just do it Ulquiorra!" She snapped. Her body was reaching its limit from being stretched over such a distance without touching Ulquiorra who was also being stretched over a distance below her.

"So demanding…but fine I will try." Slowly he lifted his right foot and attempted to move it to the red dot only to knock Orihime's foot of its post causing her to collapse on top of him, he too lost his balance and landed flat on his back. She laughed, he winced in pain. How he hated, no, _loathed_ this game. Even if his grandma loved this game to bits he would always refuse to play…so why did he find himself playing along with the princess?

"Guess I lost," she giggled and patted his shoulder, "Congrats, you get the bed tonight."

He looked up to her face, "We were playing this for the bed?" It had never occurred to him she would go to such measures but like other women she too had her morals to live by.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, "Yep."

"Why can't we just share it like we do on all the other nights?"

She cocked an eyebrow lifting her head up, "You really want me to kick you off the bed again?"

"No."  
She grinned and resumed back to resting her head against his chest, "Then I don't understand why you are complaining."

He frowned, "Who am I going to bug in the middle of the night?"

She gave his shoulder a playful punch, "Jerk."

Perhaps now was the time for him to bring out his childish but witty side, "I know you are, but what am I?"

"Ulquiorra!"

He grinned at her scowling face and pressed his thumb onto her forehead, "Don't scowl. You'll get creases on your forehead for life." He made a sweeping motion, brushing his thumb against her skin, as if to wipe away the creases.

Orihime leant over to kiss him on the cheek, "I don't give a shit."

"Hmmm? I find that hard to believe."

"It's because I have you…" She mumbled as she let her head snuggle softly onto his chest. He smiled contently to himself as he wrapped his arms around her. It felt odd to be in love again, it was even more foreign to the thought they were in a complicated situation in which the couple were married but not for real, yet they were in love.

"Ulquiorra?" Her voice was small but audible.

He let there be a long pause and then he asked, "Yes?"

"What are we going to do when the six months is up?"

Ulquiorra stroked her hair and sighed, "I don't know. Perhaps we'll be able to start over a new page, we'll tell my mum everything and then if she is willing to forgive us, then we'll see where we go from there."

She picked up a strand of her auburn hair and twirled it endlessly round her index finger. "Sounds like a long way to go…" Her voice almost sounded aggravated and desperate.

"It'll be over soon."

Once Orihime had, had enough of lying on the floor she removed herself of his body, got to her feet and stretched out her arms and legs, yawning in the process. He sat up but made no move to get off the floor as his back still throbbed a little from his sudden collapse. She turned around to flash Ulquiorra an evil smile, "Well…the bags are packed and I'm tired. Going to follow me to bed or not?"

He grinned and slowly got to his feet, "Does that mean you're going to ignore what you said earlier about me getting the bed solely for myself?"

She chuckled in answer to his question and held out her hand for his giving him an encouraging grin, he gratefully took it. As soon as their hands linked she tugged him down into the hallway leading him to the bedroom with a wide smile, she was walking backwards as to keep her eyes on him and him only. The moons rays of light streaked through the windows hitting Orihime's snow white skin letting the light contrast and shadow her features making her seem mysterious. He could look back into her eyes only grin back when there was a naughty glint in her eyes, he knew what would be in store for him...Aaaah tonight was going to be a blissful night…

* * *

A/N: I will make up for this short chapter by writing a very long one in the next one. So be patient and there'll be lots of drama! Since I am not writing lemon I will let you know that Ulquiorra and Orihime DID NOT fuck in this last chapter scene, it's still too early for that! But I'm sure you'll know what they actually did in bed! Well I'm off to pester my brother and I hope you lot enjoyed this chapter and the next chapter that will follow soon!


	22. Taking Chances

**A/N: I welcome you to Chapter 22! Hello my good people! If I could this entry of this chapter would have been greatly emphasized with party poppers, vanity lights and all that faciful stuff XD! Anyway, Thank you for the long wait, but as mentioned in the last chapter this is by far, BY FAR, the longest chapter within Stay with me, I don't know if this will be the only one but I'll give you all a heads up if I decide to write an even longer chapter so you can all be prepared to wait. Again, sorry for the crappy contents but as usual, enjoy... ^.^ **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Oh how I wish I did; but one can only dream...*sigh***

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 22 – Taking Chances**

"Now mother, we must not catch anybody's attention, we must keep a low profile or we'll be a nuisance to Ulquiorra and Orihime. Also don't be too rough on her, if she is bearing a child we must be careful and cautious, we do not want her to lose a baby." Tina rambled on lecturing her mother not to do anything reckless. They were at the airport in the first class lounge that was especially set up for them so they could avoid screaming fans and the sly paparazzi. Hana hated it when they had to wear disguises and so she was grateful for this lounge.

In a few minutes Ulquiorra and Orihime would be landing and once Orihime was reunited she would be whisked away to the doctors for a scan. Ulquiorra on the other hand would get to spend time with his friends, Grimmjow and Ichigo so he wouldn't be so alone. It was a relief that Grimmjow had insisted to come along with them to the airport, Hana had spent all night trying to think of a way she could entertain Ulquiorra whilst she 'borrowed' his wife.

Once Tina had finished with her… 1 hour lecturing she moved on to praising Grimmjow on his success with Pantera and started on getting to know Ichigo which didn't prove much of a success seeing how he was very distant and serious.

"So, Mr Kurosaki…What do you do for a living?"

Stiff as a light pole he grunted out a reply, "I'm a human psychologist."

Tina was a little concerned about his reactions towards her; did he hold some sort of grudge against her? She smiled anyway, "I see. Do you enjoy it?"

He shrugged, not exactly fully focused, "I guess…if it gives me something to do."

Tina bit her lips at the awkwardness of the conversation. He didn't seem very happy talking with her, perhaps he loathed celebrities? Either way she would not know unless he told her which she had no confidence in. His eyes were always focused and sharp like there was only one goal he had in life and the way he sat was very odd for a man.

Tina attempted to try again to get a humane reaction from him, "So how do you know Grimmjow and Ulquiorra?"

He turned to shoot her a spine chilling glare. "Through Orihime." He muttered through his teeth.

Tina recoiled back slightly into her seat as elegantly as she could for she feared that Kurosaki would catch onto her small fear of him and take advantage of the situation. Ichigo stood up from his chair, his hands clenched with anger and his face red as a tomato. "If Mrs Schiffer would be so kind to excuse me?" he asked unwillingly.

He was halfway through leaving to lounge anyway and so Tina had thought it was best he left. "Of course." she replied calmly adding a nod just to be safe. In an instant Ichigo had walked out the door almost too willingly it had made Tina wonder if she smelt funny. She sighed and glanced over to where Kurosaki sat, there was a piece of folded paper on it. She glanced at the door where Kurosaki had exited and called to see if he was still within hearing range, "Mr Kurosaki! You dropped something!"

When there was no answer she hesitated and then leaned over and reached out to grab it when another hand swiped it up. She glanced up and found Grimmjow grinning at her, "Now Tina,'s not nice ta read otha peoples belongings…"

She chuckled and slowly relaxed back into her chair, "Very funny Grimmjow. I was just reaching to grab it so I could return it to him later."

Grimmjow grinned and stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket on his jeans, " 'S alrigh' I'll return it ta Kurosaki for ya."

"What is it though?"

"Nothin' a beauty like you needs to be concerned abou'."

Tina laughed, "Flattery certainly gets _you_ somewhere."

Grimmjow as a child had always been a pleasant boy around women. He always used to say things they wanted to hear and Tina was proud of the fact that she considered him like her own son.

"Thanks Mrs T."

"So when are they due to arrive?"

"In abou' a minute or so."

It was just a silly prediction Grimmjow had made up but it had been a very accurate guess. Soon enough the flight from Langkawi was announced that the passengers were at the baggage claim area; since Orihime's and Ulquiorra's baggage had already been handed first hand to Tina they would come straight to the lounge. Excited by their arrival Hana had sprinted out to meet them before anyone could stop her; she was like a puppy exited to see its master. Although Orihime and Ulquiorra hadn't exactly appeared yet she could feel a sense vibration running up her leg telling her they were close by and so she waited amongst the corridors, peering curiously out the window provided. Soon enough Hana could see a small crowd of girls forming around something as it moved across the airport, eventually the crowd got bigger and bigger as people began to realise who had just arrived. Hana too knew and smiled when she caught sight of Ulquiorra holding onto his wife's hand as he helped her escape the excited people. The aged lady couldn't help but laugh when she found Orihime was wearing dark shaded sunglasses to hide her eyes and a black Burberry coat that her hand clutched onto to help keep it closed up. Her hair was loose so as she travelled at a very fast speed it seemed to be suspended in mid air, stretched out to its full length for all to see. However Hana noticed her complexion seemed very pale and she did not look too happy.

Too happy to wait, Hana decided to meet Ulquiorra and Orihime halfway only to be stopped by her daughter who had locked the door. Hana gave her daughter a funny look in hopes to get her to unlock it, Tina only scowled. "No." She made it so her voice was certain and that it was the final answer. Grimmjow chuckled but continued to lounge on the sofa watching the show.

Hana muttered bitterly to herself sparing evil glances to Tina as she sulked off to sit on the closest chair beside the door. She hated waiting, they had no time to spare, Orihime had to whisk of to the doctors as soon as possible. As they say… the sooner the better.

Someone knocked on the door and Tina opened it. In tumbled Ulquiorra and Orihime who both looked exhausted and tired. Tina locked the door and welcomed Orihime and her son back home with welcome arms; Hana on the other hand waddled over to thump Ulquiorra on the back with her cane and yelled, "You kept your poor granny waiting long enough!"

Orihime was quite shocked at Hana's behaviour but then again, she always did the most unexpected things. Hana wasn't angry, she was just messing around but Ulquiorra didn't seem to pick up on the fact and so he apologized, "Sorry Gran."

Hana smirked, "Apology _declined_."

Ulquiorra knew what she wanted and so he shoved his hands into his coat pocket and pulled out a small blue box of chocolates. He waved them in front of Hana's face, "Will this suffice?"

Like a hawk she instantly snatched it away from him, clutching it within her bony hands, he laughed and she smiled. "This will do for now." She lied. Oh how she adored her beloved grandson…

She turned to Orihime who gulped, "And you my dear, have already made up for it."

Orihime glanced at Hana, who was now laughing merrily, in confusion but shrugged it off. From the lounge Grimmjow pounced onto his best friends back and yelled out his greetings, "YO!"

Ulquiorra glared at him, "You again…"

"Long time no see!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ulquiorra growled.

"Hey now…I left Pantera justa come an' see ya an' all I get is a '_you again…_' afta a long time."

The three ladies laughed lightly at Grimmjow's impression of Ulquiorra. Orihime stepped in, "Well I'll say 'hello' on behalf of Ulquiorra."

Grimmjow grinned stuffing his hands lazily into his pockets, "Heya Princess."

"Hey Kitty."

He frowned, "Who said you could call me 'kitty'? No one can." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. No one had ever given him a nickname, except for Nel, so why start now?

"_I_ can and I just did."

He chuckled, remembering her demanding attitude and why he liked her in the first place. He gave her his famous grin and patted her shoulder. She laughed and mirrored his actions showing what she thought was brotherly affection. In Grimmjow's eyes it was more than just affection and Ulquiorra could see the longing to making Orihime his, reflected in the midst of his blue crystalline eyes, nevertheless he decided to shrug the image off as not to ruin the happy atmosphere that wafted in the room.

Tina clapped her hands once for everyone's attention, "Orihime, we have a surprise for you…"

"Me?"She was rather alarmed at the fact; usually Ulquiorra would be the first to receive a surprise as he was their blood heir.

"Yes and we need to be going straight away." Tina strolled over and Grimmjow moved aside before she grabbed Orihime's left arm, tugging her along towards the door. Orihime turned her head to Ulquiorra for a silent plea to save her when suddenly Hana grabbed her other arm and also tugged her along too, laughing merrily along the way.

Ulquiorra held out to stop his elders but before he could retort the door had already been slammed like judgement was passed. He turned a cold blue colour… my god, what were they going to do to her?

Suddenly Ulquiorra was more than aware that he was in the same room as his oaf of a friend, Grimmjow, who seemed to be grinning maliciously from where Orihime had just exited.

"What are you so happy about?"

Grimmjow blinked as if a fly had gotten into his eye and then turned to Ulquiorra, his tone of voice changing in an instant, "We need ta talk."

"If this is about Orihime you can screw it. She's mine and she'll always will be till the day I die."

Grimmjow blinked again in surprise. Ulquiorra never used dirty language unless he was really moody or angry, which was extremely rare, he also heard the sound of dominance in his voice. The way he said 'she's mine' was different from before, it had more of an edge to it.

"Ulquiorra, I mean it."

"I'm going after _my _wife if you have nothing more to say."

"Ichigo Kurosaki's here."

"What do I care?"

"He's come ta make ya a deal." At this Ulquiorra stopped to listen. He hated deals and what did Kurosaki have to do with anything? Grimmjow sighed once he noticed he had gotten his best friends attention and then he began to rephrase, "Kurosaki has come about the contract, he wants an' even - even shot with Orihime."

Ulquiorra's full attention was now diverted at the piece of folded paper wedged in Grimmjow's denim jeans sticking out mockingly like it was a light bulb. "How did you-"

His question was answered before it was completed. Ichigo stepped out from behind the door, his hands casually buried deep down in his coat pockets, "I found it and now I want something else of yours in return for it."

Ulquiorra breathed in deeply, prepared for whatever the request though he knew what it was. Ichigo stepped closer into the light and in a low voice proclaimed, "I want Orihime."

**…**

The car swerved to the left throwing its passengers to the left with it and then began to speed up when it came to a straight empty road before it was put to a sudden halt by the traffic lights that were gleaming red. Hana seemed to be having the time of her life when Tina drove like a maniac whilst Orihime, who hadn't experienced her mother-in-laws crazy driving first hand before, turned a sickly shade of green. She never felt car sick but somehow Tina made it possible, how she did it? Orihime had a rough guess…road rage.

The old granny chuckled and patted Orihime on the back, "How are you feeling my dear?"

Orihime responded in a weak voice as she tilted her head to rest against the car window, "I feel so damn sick…"

Hana raised an eyebrow, "Oh, how so?"

"I think it was the dodgy lasagne I ate on the plane." She lied. In fact it felt like the lasagne was the thing she was going to throw up any minute if she didn't get out of the car.

Hana replied with a 'pffft' and flapped her hands, "Unlikely story I've ever heard. First class are always first class, no other way to it…"

Orihime let out a groan as the food in her stomach gave a violent jerk. She clutched onto her waists wanting to die at the very moment, and held her breath in an attempt to stop anything escaping from her mouth. It was successful and she let out a sigh of relief.

Hana glanced at her suspiciously, "You really that sick?"

"I could barf any moment."

She chuckled at the way Orihime's face turned a slight shade of green when Tina started the car again. "What have you been doing in Langkawi?"

Orihime froze and stared at Hana in hopes to be inspired for an answer, "Well… you know... What couples usually do..."

Misinterpreting the meaning Hana cackled, "Oh I see!"

"You're not…angry?" It had taken her a while to process the information that Hana didn't seem to be shouting or red faced

"Of course not! I guess a romantic honeymoon really does make a difference!"

Confused, Orihime raised an eyebrow but shrugged the icky feeling off or rather the feeling was shoved off as the car began to start up again. Tina's foot was already ready on the pedal and as soon as the pedestrian light hit green the car was off at a formidable speed causing both Hana and Orihime to press themselves against their seats. Orihime held her breath whilst Hana only laughed like it was the most hilarious thing ever.

Orihime managed to choke out, "Where are we going?"

Tina answered this time, "The doctors."

"Why?" Then it dawned on her that Hana was with them. She instantly reacted, "What's wrong? Is Hana ill? Is the cancer painful?" Orihime placed a hand over Hana's forehead to feel for the old woman's temperature.

Annoyed Hana shuffled away from Orihime slapping the young girls hand away, "I'm fine! It's _you_ we're taking for an examination."

"Wait! Me? What's wrong with me?"

Hana rolled her eyes and groaned, "Have you been sick a lot?"

Her mind too boggled to sit straight she answered thinking Hana was asking if she was sick over the past hour, "Yes."

"Threw up on the plane did you."

It wasn't a question but it looked like she was anticipating an answer, "Yes."

"Tired by any chance at all?"

"Yes." She hadn't slept on the plane the whole night. She had just stayed up and watched movies whilst Ulquiorra slept his way peacefully throughout the last couple of hours. Where exactly was Hana going with these questions?

"Lost your appetite?"

"I have now." Orihime groaned after the mental image of the lasagne that she had on her head appeared in her mind.

Grinning Hana grabbed Orihime on the arms, "Missed monthly?"

Too surprised she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Yes!" Hana recoiled and gasped and then Orihime reached out the wave her hand rapidly to deny her answer, "I mean no - I mean - Gah! What does it matter to you?"

"You have, haven't you?" Her voice was slow and deadly. The emerald eyes that leered over her own were almost demanding with fire for an answer and so she complied in a small but stable voice, "Yes I have…"

Hana released her granddaughter-in-law and turned to Tina who had her eyes wide with shock. For a moment Orihime thought she had done something wrong but then Hana burst out into laughter pointing accusingly at her daughter, "YOU SEE! She is! She is pregnant!"

Tina turned to Orihime with a frown and Hana mirrored her daughter but with a joyous face. Orihime could only let her jaw gracefully fall down as Hana's accusation rang through her head continuously like a bell. She looked at both of them in horror and shock. By God, what had she done?

**…**

"This is blackmail."

"I would prefer to call it doing business with you."

"I will not take part in such things."

Angered, Ichigo slammed his fist down and pulled out the contract with a sneer, "You will do as I tell you, or this will be exposed to the world."

Ulquiorra rose to the orange heads threat and mimicked his actions perfectly, "You wouldn't dare."

He snarled, "You wanna bet, I'd do anything to get Orihime back where she belongs."

"She belongs with me."

"She belongs with someone who _loves_ her and would die for her, _not_ someone who forces her into a contract against her will."

"She agreed to this as much as I wanted to. It was her choice to walk out anytime she wanted but she _stayed_. Doesn't that mean something you blackmailing bastard?"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT YER FAGHOLES UP?"

Ichigo and Ulquiorra turned their head in Grimmjow's direction. Satisfied he'd caught both the attention he spoke in his rough tinny voice, "Listen, arguing ain't gonna get ya nowhere, so I suggest you two shut yer holes up and get this done with!"

Ichigo growled through gritted teeth as he re-shifted his gaze back on Ulquiorra, "I thought you were on my side you lying bastard…"

"I ain't on no one's side. I'm on ma own side." He spat.

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes, "I'm not giving in to this scheme."

"You will or you won't?" Ichigo asked menacingly.

"I won't."

The orange head pulled out his mobile and flipped the lid open, before pressing repeatedly on a button as he flipped through his contacts keeping his mental eyes on Ulquiorra's. Finally after a while his contact reached Tina's name and his thumb hovered casually over onto the green button and quietly he asked again as Ulquiorra's face turned into sudden realisation, "Now repeat for me your answer."

He wouldn't, he couldn't, how could he call his mother to expose the contract just like that? The bastard was being a coward and was using blackmail instead of a fight like last time. Giving up, knowing he didn't stand a chance with Ichigo's huge advantage, he muttered guiltily, "Just tell me what to do and I will co-operate."

**…**

"Wait! You heard _me_, on the _phone_, screaming in _pleasure_?"

"Don't try to deny it. I have all the evidence on tape."

"You recorded it?" Orihime exclaimed in shock.

Hana shrugged "Hey, I needed the evidence to prove you two are doing _something_ in the bed."

Right now, Orihime was ready to die. She was in the doctor's room waiting for the doctor himself alongside with, Tina who stood by the door anxiously, and Hana who sat happily beside her on the bed. The whole situation was barbaric. First thing she did was clarify how the story got to this point and the next thing was to clear the whole mess up, but Hana wouldn't listen. No, the stubborn grandma was stuck in her own little Hana world where everything was perfect. Tina on the other hand was more attentive when listening to her daughter-in-law but like Hana she too didn't seem to pick up on the fact that Orihime was hinting she _wasn't_ pregnant.

What was Ulquiorra going to say to all this? Damn would he be confused…

"Orihime, we're expecting a few friends of yours."

Instantly Orihime looked up at Tina in horror. "Pardon?"

Tina didn't have to answer because she opened the door and in stepped Rukia, Tatsuki, Nel and Rangiku. At once Orihime's eyes met theirs and it was silent apart from the sound of the ticking of the clock. What were they doing here all of a sudden? Did they know? Seconds seemed to pass before Nel and Rangiku burst out into cheerful cries running towards Orihime giving her the tightest hugs ever. Orihime looked at them bewildered by their sudden appearance and then she whirled her eyes to Rukia who was grinning with her hand rubbing soothingly in circles on her swollen stomach and Tatsuki who seemed to trying to hold her emotions in by clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

Finally Nel and Rangiku pulled away to jump up and down on the spot whilst clutching each other's hands, Orihime spoke up in shock, "Why are you all here?"

Nel gushed, "Tina invited us!"

Orihime shot a glance at her mother-in-law and gave her a hidden glare before turning back to her friends, "For what?"

Rangiku placed her hands on Orihime's shoulder, "A little bird told us you were doing naughty things to your newly wedded husband…"

Orihime gaped in horror. "Me?" She spluttered.

"Oh come on now! We all do it at some point…" Hana snickered.

"I wouldn't do such things, if any the case, Ulquiorra would be the one doing it to me!" She blurted out. All of a sudden she just managed to understand what she had just said and it didn't help the situation. Everyone was starting to get excited at the news.

"Come on then! We want to get to the nitty gritty details!" Rukia teased.

Orihime waved her hands, "Wait! It's nothing like that!"

"Was he passionate?"

"No-"

"Was he rough or gentle?" Tatsuki demanded.

"I-"

"How did it feel?"

"He-"

"Fast or slow?"

Overwhelmed by all the sudden questions from the girls she stood up from the bed and burst out, "STOP IT!"

They all instantly stepped away from her and hushed up; slightly shocked Orihime would just burst out like that. It was only Hana who managed to note down that Orihime was _not_ angry, because she could see the princesses cheeks light up a deep shade of crimson whilst her eyes refused to make contact with any of the other pairs staring at her. The granny let out a small hidden chuckle.

After calming down significantly she replied quietly for all to hear, "What happens between me and Ulquiorra; is what stays with us until I decide to tell."

Just then the door opened, brushing Tina aside and the doctor walked in. Orihime thought this doctor had a strange way of doing her hair, it was thick and jet black but it was plated around her neck in front and tucked into her uniform. For a moment the doctor seemed a little confused at the people standing in but then she caught sight of Tina and smiled, placing her clipboard against her chest, bowing a little as she greeted her old friend, "Tina."

"Retsu." Tina replied with a happy chime in her voice.

"What may it be this time? Pill's for Hana?"

Tina waved a hand dismissively and shook her head. "No, Dr. Unohana, not this time." She stated.

Dr. Unohana looked thoroughly confused and glanced over the bed to be sure that she wasn't dreaming Hana was there and sure enough the old lady seemed to be sitting there with a grin on her face. If one didn't know about the situation on would think she was grinning because she was cured of something. Tina explained, "Retsu, I want you to meet my daughter-in-law. Orihime Inoue."

As if on cue Orihime moved swiftly past Rangiku and Nel and stepped up before she held out her hand, Tina gestured toward Unohana, "Orihime, this is our private Doctor. You may also know that Dr. Unohana is head of District 4."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Orihime nailed on a smile to look aesthetically pleasing.

Dr. Unohana smiled and gratefully took Orihime's hand, "A pleasure for me too. You must be Ulquiorra's lovely wife I've heard so much about."

Orihime chuckled modestly releasing her hand, "Oh, I wouldn't say I'm lovely."

"No, no. You have a very nice aura about you. Please take my compliment."

Orihime nodded to show she accepted the request, "Thank you."

"So what may I do for you Mrs Schiffer?"

Orihime didn't have to answer, even though she wanted to, as Tina had gotten there before her, "Retsu, we're under the belief that Orihime here, is with a child." The way Tina paused in between certain words was so dramatic she could pass for an audition in Shakespeare.

"Congratulations!" Unohana applauded as she turned to Orihime.

Her voice turned hard like stone, "However Retsu, we have yet to clarify it."

Instantly Unohana was on the case in matter of seconds, "You want me to do a test?"

"It would be safer to than going out to the local pharmacy to get pregnancy tests and risk being trampled over by mad fans."

"I see." She nodded and then placed her clipboard down onto her desk before turning to everyone in the room, "I'm sure Mrs Schiffer would like some privacy before I examine her so would you all be as to so kind to leave the room just for a few seconds."

They all moaned and groaned for they wanted to see the test results themselves but seeing how Orihime's 'privacy' was more important above all other things, they understood and all shuffled unwillingly out the door before closing it as slowly as they could. Hana could be seen trying to peek through the crack on the edge of the door.

Once alone Unohana turned to Orihime gesturing for her to sit as she sat down behind her desk. Orihime followed her gesture and sat up straight. Unohana smiled, "Well my dear, I am going to ask a couple of question before I start the test. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to but it would be more useful if you do. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Orihime answered unsurely.

Unohana smiled and shuffled her papers neatly before placing them back down and picking her pen up. She looked up to Orihime and smiled whilst her fountain pen nib pressed down onto the paper in her hand, slowly and gently she proceeded with her first question, "You've had sexual intercourse, haven't you?"

Orihime turned red as a tomato. She had to lie but she couldn't bring herself to say that she had. The very thought of Ulquiorra doing 'things' to her was just impossible to imagine at the moment and it was indeed very embarrassing. Orihime could only manage a small nod as she fiddled with the edge of her dress and shifted around in her chair.

Unohana smiled at the young girls shy reaction and chuckled a little, "I understand it's a bit embarrassing for you but I assure you, this information won't be known to anyone else."

Orihime bit her lip out of uncertainty; Hana was surely going to try getting the information in any way possible.

Unohana continued, "How many times have you engaged in this act?"

Orihime, if possible, flushed a very dark shade of crimson. The hold on the hem of her dress tightened and she could barely look up at Unohana. Breathing in she tried for an answer, "I…don't remember." It sounded like a lie.

Unohana smiled softly in a understanding way and moved on, "When was the last intercourse?"

Orihime again had no choice to lie, however she did so very weakly, "On…our honeymoon."

Unohana leaned in, "Could you be more specific?"

Orihime instantly shook her head. All of a sudden she found the floor very fascinating and began scraping her foot against it.

"Missed any monthly's?"

Orihime sighed at the same question Hana had asked in the car. She hadn't missed one day at all but she had to lie for the sake of Ulquiorra, "Yes."

Unohana then began jotting all the notes down onto her pad and looked up to Orihime. "Well I think we're ready for the test now." She said with a smile. Orihime gulped. Of course, Unohana was a doctor so she would probably have to examine her body and Orihime wasn't looking forward to that part. When Unohana stood up, so did Orihime, expecting for the doctor to ask her to strip to her skivvies but to her surprise she had reached for the draw beside her and put her hand in before withdrawing a small package and carefully shutting the door with her soft fingers. Unohana looked back up to Orihime and handed her the package. The princess took it without realising what it was or what she had to do with it until she glanced at it properly, reading the enlarged captions. It read 'Pregnancy Test' in black bold capital letters.

Unohana pointed over the door and said, "You can go in there to do it. There's some water in there for you to drink if you need help."

It was almost a relief Unohana wasn't going to examine her body. She wasn't even married properly yet and she still had her virginity intact. However a pregnancy test wasn't exactly helpful either, if the results came up negative she'd know why and if the results came up positive she wouldn't know how it would be possible. Then again pregnancy tests could always be faulty and therefore weren't always reliable. All feelings of feeling sick and nauseas were suddenly replaced with nervousness and butterflies which hammered frantically in her stomach. Sighing deeply Orihime prepared herself before she took the first unsure steps into the bathroom and then closing out the rest of the world and keeping just one private moment to herself.

…

"There, the contract is complete. Are you happy now?" Ulquiorra muttered bitterly sparing a couple of dagger stabbing glares at the orange head and his best friend, who was now at the moment, his enemy. He slammed the pen down with so much force the table let off a slight creek. In a couple of minutes or so the three men were going to confront the maiden with their plan and explain in detail so she knew what was going on and Ulquiorra was not looking forward to that part.

"I am satisfied."

Ulquiorra scowled at the smirk that appeared on Ichigo's face, "Remember the deal starts in three days, not today or tomorrow. Until then you keep your filthy paws off _my_ wife."

"She's no longer just yours, she ours as well."

"Mind you but I didn't see _you_ taking the vows for her," Ulquiorra spat sharply.

"At least I didn't force her into marriage."

Ulquiorra growled a little at Ichigo's statement and replied harshly, "I also didn't see Orihime taking the vows for _you_."

That seemed to shut Ichigo up for a moment and it had set his teeth on a permanent edge. Currently Grimmjow was messing around with Ulquiorra's belonging, he didn't seem to care that the emo was angry. On the contrary he was thinking about Nel, wondering if she was okay. Was Loly abusing her again? He didn't notice that his canines sank into the edge of his lips as he scowled at the thought.

Ichigo's voice resonated in the air, "Jeagerjaques! We did it!"

Grimmjow turned around to see Ichigo's triumphant face but only frowned in response. Ulquiorra was nowhere to be seen and so the blunette assumed he had gone to the men's room for a break. "What's there ta be happy about?" he muttered moodily.

Ichigo's smile dropped, "Aren't you happy we get to have a chance with Orihime?"

"Even if that were tha case she's still _married_ ta him, she's_ living _with him an' she seems_ happy_." Grimmjow pointed out with emphasis.

Ichigo was refusing to give up and leave the tall blue headed man unconvinced of their victory, "We still have a chance. Just because of those reasons doesn't mean I will give up. You might, but I won't, I'm going to fight for her love till the very end."

"Just how much of a pea brain are yer?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo defended.

"Yer forgetting that she's pregnant!"

Ichigo went quiet and Grimmjow continued to rant on angrily like he was running some campaign, "An even if she ain't, well, there ain't gonna me much time before she's going ta spread her legs faithfully for him!" By now Grimmjow's face was flustered red and his breath rapid from the harsh yelling.

He was confused.

One minute he was happy that for once Orihime would be able to make a choice but now…well he wasn't exactly sure why he was this way now. Maybe he was going to go insane with love but only shook his head at the thought. The great Grimmjow Jeagerjaques would never fall _that _low.

"You may be right, but you forget that Orihime has yet to choose." Ichigo remained persistent as always. Grimmjow only ignored him as the sound of Ulquiorra's footsteps echoed back into hearing range and soon enough the pale man re-appeared by the doorway. He looked like a ghost and then he suddenly opened his jaw to speak, "Get out of my house. I have no further business with you."

Ichigo strolled over to him and leaned over closely to the emo, "I was just about to."

Ulquiorra gave him another warning glare as the orange head left and slammed the door with such force the resonance of wind blew past Ulquiorra's back. It was silent and then without a word Ulquiorra shot another twin silent glare at Grimmjow who only smirked in response, "Yeah, I know. Leavin'."

"You're a traitor."

"Well done, yer only four years behind." Grimmjow drawled sarcastically.

"Get out, I never want to see your face again. You hurt _my_ wife one bit and I'll make sure your heads going on my fence." Ulquiorra warned sternly, with a hint of a hiss at the last sentence. Grimmjow only shrugged and ignored Ulquiorra's 'fake' threat and proceeded to stroll past him when the pale man suddenly grabbed his muscular arms stopping the blunette in his tracks. Grimmjow blinked in confusion and glanced from the pale bony hand flexing against his skin to the face of the owner. Ulquiorra did _not_ look happy. His green eyes began making their way into piercing Grimmjow's crystal blue ones and he added in a low and stern tone, "Permanently."

For a moment Grimmjow could feel fear erupting from his very heart for the very first time since he was 7 years old. Ulquiorra was serious and it wasn't even funny anymore. When had this man become so possessive?

He moodily shrugged the pale hand off his arm and snorted as if he didn't care, "Why would I do that?"

Ulquiorra did not answer and watched as Grimmjow left the house casually, as if nothing had been said between the two, and just as the door was about to shut Ulquiorra could hear Grimmjow's rough voice, "See ya 'round."

With that the door shut leaving Ulquiorra standing in the hallway of his house, exhausted. He crossed his fingers. Now all that was left was to tell his devil of a wife the news, how hard could that be?

**…**

Orihime sat outside Unohana's office twiddling her fingers in nervous anticipation; she didn't seem to be aware that her friends and family were doing the same with the exception on Hana who was also pacing back and forth down the corridors. Orihime could hear Tina calmly sipping her tea and could hear the excited whispers from Nel. Rangiku stood huddled in the corner, her eyes rounded with black circles and heavy eye bags and her skin so pale it looked like it sustained no blood through the veins, was she not well?

Orihime approached her best friend and smiled, "Heya."

Rangiku frowned jokingly, uncrossing her arms and straightening her back up against the wall by a fraction of an inch, "What are you saying hey for?"

Orihime laughed, "Guess I missed you."

"That's sweet to know." Rangiku smiled and then her smile dropped and she let out a yawn.

Orihime rubbed her best friends arm soothingly, "You look ill."

"Nah…I'm just tired, being lieutenant of district 10 is a lot harder than I'd thought it'd be. Especially if you have a captain like mine."

"I don't think it's cause of that, you've coped pretty well for the last years so why start to buckle now? It's something else isn't it?"

Rangiku smiled weakly, "You always were good at reading people's hearts."

"Yeah, you can't hide it from me." Orihime giggled nudging her ribs playfully.

Rangiku sighed, "And I suppose if I were to try telling a lie, you would know?"

"That's right."

Rangiku sighed again and slumped a little more against the wall, "I…met the love of my life after… being so far apart from him…"

Orihime snapped her head up, "You were in love before me?"

"Yeah, I guess I never really told anyone."

Instantly the princess launched herself off the wall and grabbed Rangiku's hand, "So come on! Shouldn't you be happy now that he's back? You should be full of energy! Not looking like a zombie!" Orihime gave her a distasteful look as she looked at Rangiku's drear appearance up and down.

"That's nice to know I look like the un-dead…"

"Come on Rangiku! What's wrong?" She tugged at her bestie's arm.

The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes but then faced Orihime with watering eyes, "He told me he…loved me."

Orihime gasped, "So what're you sad about? You should be dancing with joy!"

Rangiku's lips tremored, "But…he said that I mustn't see him…or go after him again…"

At this Orihime fell silent as she looked at her best friend in disbelief. It was no wonder why Rangiku looked like an utterly dead lost soul. It was because she was a lost soul, a soul that was merely searching for the right pieces of a puzzle.

"But after not seeing him for a long time…I can't; I can't bring myself to let him go…"

The words could only just about usher out from her lips, just loud enough for Orihime to hear. Was it this 'Gin' Rangiku had once accidently mentioned in her drunken stupor? She raised her eyebrows and asked, "By any chance does this have something to do with a 'Gin'."

Rangiku's eyes turned round as orbs and they seemed to glimmer a little bit more. Her mouth was slightly agape and she was leaning in a little more closely to Orihime. "You know him?" she asked in disbelief, it was a little too loud as Tina, Hana and Rukia turned towards their direction. Rangiku shut her mouth. Orihime glanced over at her in-laws and gave an encouraging smile towards them making them believe nothing was going on. The smile worked and they continued to rock back and forth on their feet or the chair.

Orihime backed off a little but replied quietly but boldly, "I do not."

"But, how do you know him?"

"You mentioned him once when you got drunk."

Rangiku's jaw dropped, never had she once mentioned her lover when she was drunk and even if she did mention something about love it was usually associated with teasing her Captain or Lieutenant Hisagi. But either way she had_ never_ mentioned Gin to anybody.

Orihime raised her eyebrows whilst trying to read Rangiku's expression, "I take that as a yes?"

"Yes?" Rangiku questioned slowly.

"I mean it is 'Gin' whom your heart belongs to. Isn't it?"

The strawberry blond said nothing for a while, her lips tremored and then guiltily she nodded bleakly. Orihime sighed, "I had thought so."

Rangiku blinked back the tears forming in her eyes and sniffled lightly, "I'm so confused…"

Orihime placed a hand on Rangiku's arms and gave her a sympathetic look; she opened her mouth to say something only for her name to be barked out loud by Hana. She gritted her teeth; Rangiku's case would have to wait, for now she had to deal with this stupid pregnancy issue. Unohana was poking her head out from behind the door with her usual smile plastered on so that the results looked positively something to dread.

"Hana?"

The old lady waved her hand and almost stormed into Unohana's office out of desperateness, "Come on! You want to find out the results too!"

Tina and the others chuckled as they followed the eager senior into the office, each of them filing in one by one and giving Orihime hopeful looks. Orihime only groaned quietly, wanting to be put to death any minute. In fact, now would be the best time to get shot…

Unohana stepped aside for Orihime to step in and then once everyone was inside she closed the door and resumed her position back behind the desk. Again she shuffled the pile of papers in front of her and then put the papers back down to give Orihime a stern look.

Hana eagerly leant over and began to demand for an answer, "So Retsu, is she pregnant or not?"

Unohana kept her eyes peeled on the princess and frowned. Orihime gulped and sunk down lower against her chair. She was so screwed.

"After the test, I can clarify that…" Unohana paused which caused a sudden tension in the air as everyone anticipated an answer. Orihime noticed how she was the only one not to be leaning in willingly for the answers. It seemed that Unohana seemed to notice too and then gently broke the news, "Orihime Inoue, is not pregnant."

It went quiet. Orihime sucked in her breath. No one knew what to say and the glint in Tina's eyes seemed to blacken a little. Hana was unable to digest the news and leaned over the table so that she was almost face to face with the doctor, "I'm sorry. What did you say?" she planted her fists solidly against the table.

Unohana replied calmly, unfazed by Hana's dark aura, "Miss Inoue is not with a child."

Tina buried her head into her hand and shook her head, "I knew it…"

Hana wouldn't accept it, "It can't be! I heard them! On the phone!"

Rangiku and Nel turned to give each other funny looks, as if they too couldn't believe it they then turned to Unohana. "Surely you must have made a mistake?" They said at the same time.

Unohana shook her head, "There is a low chance these test conducted by me would fail."

Rukia was next to speak, "What's the percentage?"

"The percentage of accuracy is 99.5%, only 0.5% would be inaccurate."

Tatsuki joined in, "But there's a chance that your test was wrong right? Orihime could be in one of those 0.5%, right?"

Everyone but Tina nodded in agreement. Unohana smiled, "She could. But I think Miss Inoue knows the truth able her condition. Isn't that right Orihime?" The doctor turned to smile at her and then Orihime found several pairs of eyes glancing at her. If she had a gun she'd shoot the doctor for doing that and make a runner, but she didn't have one and her in-laws almost owned half the police force so they'd track her down within seconds. Orihime sat up and exhaled as if accepting defeat. If she was going to die now she might as well admit the truth, "Unohana's right. I'm not pregnant."

Everyone looked absolutely disappointed with her, like she hadn't done enough to contribute, but what could she do? She wouldn't exactly go and sleep with her boyfriend straight away could she? They weren't even married properly.

"I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen." She added in hopes to lessen the burden.

Nobody answered or said a word until Hana dismissed Orihime's friends, "You may all go home now. I would like to speak to my granddaughter in peace."

Wordlessly they shuffled out to the door giving apologetic and sympathetic looks Nel and Rangiku touched her arm as they left and made gestures for Orihime to call them. Unohana thought it was best to leave the family alone and followed after the leaving girls carrying her stack of papers with her usual smile pasted on. Once the door shut and the footsteps disappeared Tina let out a sigh, "I told you mother."

Hana growled aloud, "Unohana must be wrong!"

"She is not. You even heard from Orihime yourself."

Hana turned to Orihime and gave her a look full of hope, "You were lying weren't you?"

"I wasn't." Orihime said. Hana's face sagged a little; she looked like she was going to protest when Orihime continued, "It's the truth. I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me."

Hana scowled and Orihime simply closed her eyes, glad that she said what she had to. Still she had told them at a very wrong time…

"Mother, I think we should leave it at that. Orihime is not pregnant and she's just come back from Langkawi, I think she deserves to go home to Ulquiorra and get some rest."

"I don't understand it. She told me she was sick, missed a monthly and felt tired."

"Oh, I can explain that. I ate a dodgy lasagne on the plane ride back here, I think I already told you, and I couldn't get to sleep because of my stomach ache."

Hana glared, "Doesn't explain the missed monthly."

Orihime spoke, "Oh I can explain that too. I'm stressed out quite a lot these days so they become irregular by a couple of days." She stopped when she caught the look of death on Hana's face and then she began to wonder what idiocy she had just said. Tina seemed to be taking in the information very slowly.

It genuinely looked like Hana was going to explode out into a rage of fury and anger as her face pinched up a little as if she were straining to keep something in, Orihime prepared herself for whatever the consequence that was most likely going to follow soon after, but she hadn't prepared herself for Hana's next actions. The old women closed her eyes and exhaled all sense of anger left her face leaving behind a serene look. She waddled over and pulled Orihime in for a hug, surprising not just Orihime but Tina as well.

"Hana?" Orihime questioned.

Hana sighed, "I guess it's still too early for a child."

Orihime didn't answer but simply nodded as she nuzzled her face into Hana's hair getting a strong waft of lavender. She allowed herself to close her eyes. Tina smiled softly and decided to creep out of the room whilst her mother was spending time with Orihime.

"I guess I'm just a little impatient to see your children."

Guilt washed over Orihime. One of Hana's wishes before she passed away was to see her great grandchildren and since Ulquiorra wasn't really married to her, they wouldn't be having children anytime soon. "I'm sorry Hana." Orihime mumbled. It was the only thing she could think of that would temporarily relieve her of some guilt.

Hana pushed herself away from her granddaughter-in-law and cupped the princess's cheeks, admiring the auburn headed beauty in front of her as she thought of how magnificent her great grandchildren would look. She smiled, "So beautiful."

Orihime couldn't help but let a smile creep up onto her features savouring the sweet moment for a while before Hana pulled away completely and jabbed Orihime's toes with her wooden stick.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" She protested loudly, not caring if anyone heard.

Hana cackled jokingly, "You'd better take good care of your children. If I were there to see them I'd spoil them rotten!"

Orihime couldn't help but laugh along with Hana and nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be sure to spoil them." Hana nodded in approval and then they both looked around the room realising that it was empty. Orihime spoke first, "I think we should get going."

"One more question before we go!" Hana bellowed out of the blue shocking Orihime out of her shoes. She gave Hana an innocent look, hoping the granny would go easy on her. Hana only smirked, "Just what were you two doing in Langkawi?"

Orihime gave a confused look, there was a long pause, "What?"

"Come on! If you're not pregnant it means you two aren't doing what a man and a woman should be doing!" Hana's voice was almost equivalent to 95 decibels at which point Orihime was certain she'd be losing her hearing sooner or later if the old lady didn't quieten down.

"Wait Hana, we have-"

"So you have been doing it! Then how come you aren't carrying a baby?" Hana paused to think ignoring Orihime's yelling of protests and then after some 'deep' thinking she asked, "You aren't menopausal are you?"

"God no!" was the only answer Orihime could provide.

"Then you've been using protection!" Hana pointed her hand accusingly towards Orihime.

"It's not that either!" Orihime replied waving her hands.

Out of the blue Hana just suddenly began talking to herself in mutters which Orihime could just about hear, "I'm going to get Unohana to prescribe you something that's going to make you two horny as hell."

Orihime could almost die of embarrassment even though no one was around; she flushed a dark shade of red and wouldn't look at anything else other than the carpet. What would she have to explain to Ulquiorra when she came back home with packets of whatever Unohana would subscribe them both? Hana suddenly grabbed her hand and rushed the two out the door without a second thought or even letting Orihime finish her thought and they were out the door like lightning.

**…**

"Orihime, why on earth are you carrying a box?"

Orihime poked her head out from the side and grinned shyly at her boyfriend, "Hello?"

Ulquiorra could see she was struggling to hold the boxes and instantly rushed to his girlfriends side lifting the box off her hands and putting it down effortlessly down onto the floor. Orihime exhaled and blew her side fringe out of her eyes.

"So would you care what to explain what this is for?" Ulquiorra asked gesturing towards the unknown 'parcel'. It was rather heavy, perhaps paperwork?

"It's a very long story." She wheezed.

"We have all night. But first, there's something that I want to tell you…" He clutched onto her hands and tugged her gently down into the hallway and into the living room seating her down onto the sofa.

"What is it?" Orihime asked looking around to see if anything had changed. Nothing had.

"Ichigo Kurosaki came over."

That name seemed to stick wherever they went. Instantly her head snapped up and she replied bitterly, "What's this got to do with me? I thought I already made it clear to you that I hated him."

Ulquiorra hushed her, knowing full well she was upset and emotionally wounded by the man, "I know, I know. But you see. He had our contract with him."

Her eyes widened and she gasped, "But how did he?"

"I don't know either. But to stop it from getting out to the world I made a deal that he proposed."

She swallowed hard, "This isn't good is it?"

He shook his head, "Unfortunately not."

She sighed, taking in a deep breather to be prepared for whatever Ulquiorra would say next, "Keep going."

"Within three days, for the remainder of the months until granny passes away, you must divide your time equally with Mr. Kurosaki, Jeagerjaques and myself."

Orihime's forehead knitted together in frustration, she held up her hand for him to stop talking, "Wait, wait. Grimmjow is involved?"

"I'm afraid so."

She cursed and threw her arms up into the air and placed her hands onto her forehead, "Geez, just how complicated can things get?"

Ulquiorra frowned, "Can I continue?"

She groaned but never removed her hand off from her face, "Whatever, I doubt it can get any worse."

Ulquiorra winced at how wrong her 'hypothesis' was, "Well, by the end of this deal you must decide with whom you shall go with."

She snorted still not removing her hands, "You of course."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong."

"How so?"

"One's heart can easily be swayed by another."

She finally removed her hand and smirked before leaning over to him. Naturally Ulquiorra backed away by lowering himself little by little onto the sofa and then when he found he couldn't possibly bend down anymore he could only see the intensity of sliver orbs staring back into his eyes."Are you doubting my love for you?" his girlfriend threatened with a serious tone. He couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Though he knew he was an idiot to give an answer.

"No." He was careful not make his voice sound weak. One slip and she was sure to get him.

She brightened up into a smile and gave him a peck on the lips, "Good." She got off him and sat back down into her original position, humming calmly, "As for this 'deal', I'll participate for your sake."

"You're not angry?" He asked, getting up. It was unusual for her to be remaining so calm; it was too unusual that Ulquiorra was almost convinced that this wasn't the Orihime he knew.

"Of course I'm angry. But I'll still have you won't I? I'll be more like a day out with…old friends."

He smiled, glad she could find the positive side to things, "I see." Unconsciously he glanced at the box sitting in the corner. "Now would you mind telling me what that box is for?"

Orihime grinned shyly, "That's from Unohana."

"You went to visit my doctor? What for?"

"Let's just say Hana assumed little versions of me and you would be coming along soon."

Ulquiorra choked, "You're pregnant?"

She chuckled, "I am not. That's what Hana thought before she spread the news to the whole world."

Ulquiorra sighed with relief, "Thank heavens." He wasn't exactly ready to be a father and he hadn't actually 'made love' with his princess yet.

"But as a result of finding out I was not pregnant; Hana hammered Unohana with pleas to prescribe 'medicine' to aid our sex hormones." She paused to check what she said was correct, "Something along the lines of that. We also have to drink it once a day."

"That's disgusting." Ulquiorra looked at the box like it was an unknown creature and crinkled his nose like it stank.

Orihime laughed, "You think? I was the one who had to touch it so I don't see why you're complaining."

"It's sitting on _my_ floor, in _my_ house." He pointed out blatantly.

Today had been a particularly long day for her. Rangiku was in trouble with love, Hana seemed mad about the idea of having great grandchildren, Ulquiorra had made a deal with her worst enemy. What more was there to get within one day? Oh wait, in three days she also had to go on a 'date'. Orihime was shattered and needed some relaxation. Getting up and deciding that she needed a bath she made her way to the bathroom, "Whatever."

As soon as she disappeared from view, Ulquiorra realised that the unwanted box was still sitting there. "You could at least have the decency to put it away somewhere where I won't have to see it." He called after her.

"Thank you for offering Ulquiorra." Orihime answered back from deep within the halls.

Ulquiorra scowled and unwillingly made his way towards the box, thinking about how ungrateful his girlfriend could be. Where was his 'Thank You' when needed?

Without warning her voice suddenly added with the addition of silent echoes that bounced of the walls, "I love you!"

It was like she had read his mind. He couldn't help but smile to himself, thinking that it would do just fine for a Thank You. After all she had unusual ways to show her appreciation. "I love you too."

* * *

A/N: I am literally sitting on my bed wrapped in warm fluffly blankets whilst watching some horror movies with my trustworthy popcorn and Cola by my side. Well folks, it's nearly Christmas and the weather gets colder by the minute so wrap up warm (if you're in the UK)! I'm not sure whether I'll write a chapter dedicated for Christmas, so wishin y'all an early Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday! I'll try to get the next chapter uploaded as soon as I can, until then you can encourage my spirit by reviewing, favouriting and alerting XD!


	23. Welcome Home Party

**A/N: NO, I did not forget about this story I've just had a handful to deal with this year. Let me start again; Welcome to Chapter 23 people! and yes I am going to apologize for crap contents, rushed writing, terrible grammar and long waits for updates so please forgive me! Enjoy. (I'll be sure to be updating more frequently now to make up for how long I've been 'absent'). WARNING: I HAVE ATTEMPTED LIME IN THIS! NOT LEMON, LIME! Don't judge me cuz I know I suck ;p**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 23 – Welcome Home Party**

Ulquiorra let out a small groan when something prodded him on the shoulder. Then a voice came into hearing range. He tried to make out the words but couldn't, it wasn't until he opened his eyes that he found his girlfriend on top of him, prodding him with her fingers. She smiled; happy he was finally awake. "Morning, sleepy head." The tone in her voice was light and teasing, at the same time it sounded like trilling.

He groaned, "What time is it?"

She glanced at his digital clock on the right, "It's eight am." She brushed back some of his black hair out of his face and smiled, "How are you feeling my love?"

"Tired. What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously. Orihime wasn't the type of person to wake up earlier than himself, and she certainly did not smile at the same time as using endearing names such as 'my love'. Then again, one could change when in love.

"Let me snuggle in with you." She demanded in answer to his question.

"Why?"

"I'm cold."

"There's a spare blanket in the wardrobe."

"I want something to hug."

"There's a teddy bear in the living room."

"I feel lonely."

"Fine, get in." He surrendered as he lifted the blankets up.

Without a complaint she leapt in under the blankets next to him with her arms wrapped securely around his waist. In return he mirrored her actions exactly and buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling the smell of apricots and honey. She giggled as his breath tickled her neck. If only they could stay like this within the soft white sheets for all eternity; never having to face the problems of the outside world and only face the blissful lie-in's with a loved one in your arms. Ulquiorra's hopeful embrace was short lived when his wife started twisting and turning.

"Go to sleep." He mumbled.

"I can't. I don't feel like it."

"Then try for my sake."

"I can't, I feel too alert."

He removed his head from her neck and took a good long glare at her, something about her wasn't normal today, "What can I do to make you hush up?"

She giggled and kissed him softly, "Tell me you love me." Three simple words wouldn't be that hard to repeat but Orihime knew far better to know her boyfriend did not like to show emotions much; therefore he would most likely refuse to say anything. Now Ulquiorra understood what she wanted. Reassurance.

"What for?"

She kissed him again, "Because I love you."

"And?"

"I want to hear the same things coming from you."She breathed against his lips.

He sighed and rolled his eyes pulling away ever so slightly, "If I say 'I love you' will you kindly shut up?"

"Maybe."

"I love you."

She smiled softly, "Kiss me."

"You just stole several of mine; I think you've had enough for today."

She sighed, "You're learning to build up some tolerance against me and I'm getting addicted." She frowned; he only chuckled and buried his head back into the crook of her neck and giving it a light peck. "Now how am I supposed to get what I want?" She wailed helplessly.

He only chuckled again in response, "Ask Hana, she'll get everything for you."

"True." She mused kissing his cheek softly. She paused letting an idea slip into her head to make the morning more interesting, "Say…What would you like for breakfast?"

Ulquiorra instantly shot up straight and looked down upon his girlfriend with a frown, "You're cooking breakfast?"

She shrugged, "Sure. Why not?"

"That is most definitely not a good idea."

She scowled and gently punched his arm, "I can cook basic things y'know!"

"By basics, you mean pouring milk onto cereal." He mumbled the obvious.

Her eye twitched as she restrained herself from murdering him right on the spot. He liked to ruin the sweetest moments when they were together, it was almost like he was doing it deliberately to get out of a situation but then again it was his nature to be crude; the bloody asshole.

She jumped out of the bed and stretched, her back turned to him. "Well, I'm making you breakfast anyway."

He let out a groan. Her eye twitched with annoyance but she brushed it aside lightly. "I _will_ make you breakfast." She repeated again as she stepped out her boyfriends room. "And you will eat it and _enjoy_ it." She slammed the door making her statement final. He groaned and ruffled his black hair before falling back into his plump pillows, burying his face within them. Damn was his girlfriend scary in the morning.

**…**

"So I was thinking. Maybe we could go out on a date or something?"

Ulquiorra looked up from his cereal bowl almost humming amusingly, "Hmmm. What's the rush?"

Orihime smiled, "You know. I only get three days with you before I have to start seeing Kurosaki, don't you want to spend time with your loving and devoted girlfriend?" She batted her eyelashes innocently.

Ulquiorra snorted and shoved another spoonful of oats into his mouth. He'd be dead if he were caught laughing at her, then again half the time he was in trouble with her anyway. This woman was a bad influence on him. Never had he wanted to kiss those full plump lips so badly. He let out a groan as she licked her lips, removing the milk traces around it. See, he even had dirty thoughts now…

She looked up at him and blinked, "Is something wrong?"

He coughed and resumed back to staring down at his bowl, stirring the oatmeal contents around the milk, "Nothing, nothing."

"So, what are we gonna do with those hormone packet things?"

"Leave them in the storage room."

"Hana said she'll be checking if we're drinking them daily."She added.

"We'll empty the packet into the sink and throw the packaging in the bin. Easy."

"She's expecting me to have a baby. Not to mention, I should be really horny."

"No dirty language in my house."

Orihime giggled, "Shame. That's how I speak."

"Touché." He groaned. Slowly he swallowed another mouthful of oats before saying, "The plan is simple. Just say we're not ready for children."

"How am I supposed to have my morals in mind if I'm supposed to be horny?"

"We're using protection. End of." He went back to eating and began to read the newspaper beside his bowl of cereal.

Orihime leaned over the table curiously and studied his facial expressions. He looked cute when he was eating and reading. At first he was oblivious to her actions when he noted that it was awfully quiet all of a sudden. Ulquiorra glanced up to find his girlfriend smiling at him, her head resting on her palm as she watched him eat. He chewed slowly, "What is it?"

"Nothing. Keep eating."

Suddenly he lost his appetite like he had a feeling she'd put something inedible in his oats. He pushed the bowl away from him with the slight nudge of his palm, "I done."

"You didn't eat much."

"Wasn't particularly hungry." He lied. His stomach grumbled much to his embarrassment.

Orihime smiled. "Doesn't sound like it." She mused. He avoided looking at her eyes for fear of humiliation.

She let out a giggle, "Keep eating. I don't know what you're so anxious about."

He could only roll his eyes. That innocent act never fooled him one bit. He was resistant against her powers and she knew that better than anyone else. Unwillingly he pulled the bowl back and glanced at the contents in it. There had to be something in it that made her want for him to eat it. He stirred a little but found nothing but oats. He glanced up and again she was smiling innocently at him. Cautiously he lifted a spoonful and put it in his mouth; he chewed thoroughly and then swallowed. It tasted like normal cereal. Satisfied he continued eating, blissfully aware that his girlfriend was still watching with a devious smirk pasted on her face. About the fifth spoonful later he felt_ it._ That unmissable burning sensation that shot through his nose and damn did it hurt like hell! Ulquiorra clutched his nose in pain and glared at his girlfriend who smiled in triumph.

"What did you put in that?" he demanded, still clutching his nose.

She laughed, "Oh you know. The basics. Milk, cereal…"

He raised an eyebrow, his nose still burning, "And?"

Orihime narrowed her eyes and made a pinching motion with her fingers, "I might've slipped a little wasabi in…"

That did it. Ulquiorra ran round the table to capture his girlfriend only to abruptly fail when she dodged his flailing arms. Orihime slipped off her chair and pranced round behind the counter, closely followed by her mad boyfriend.

"You get back here Orihime Inoue!"

"Catch me then!" She jeered running off into the garden.

**…**

It was evening. Orihime and Ulquiorra had managed to unpack and wash some of their clothing's, as well as fitting a couple of very much needed naps for their jet lag. Hana and Tina had popped round to see if the wedded couple were doing well but Hana had other ideas. Currently the old granny managed to steal the princess away from the prince and was dragging her into Tina's car. She had just forced Orihime into an evening gown and it didn't look like it was for just socialising, the dress was so short she swore that people could see her pants. Hana had also decided to give her a makeover and applied so much makeup onto Orihime's face that Orihime felt like her skin was suffocating from the lack of oxygen due to her pores being blocked up by some gunk.

"Hana, where are you taking me?"

"We're going to a party!"

Orihime's forehead creased up, "I'm sorry. Who's party?"

"Yours silly!"

"For what?" She paused to think. Perhaps Hana thought it was her birthday, "It's not my birthday!"

Hana snorted loudly and flapped a hand, "I know! It's your welcome home party stupid!"

Orihime made a mental note not to ever plan a party with Hana or to give dates of important events, especially if she was going to force her to dress up like a slut. If Ulquiorra caught her wearing this he'd die from a nosebleed, not that she'd mind him getting a nosebleed in the first place. Orihime smirked at the thought.

"I've taken the liberty of inviting you're friends."

Orihime didn't even question how the grandma got a hold of her friends contact details but then again if Tina was the pro at finding information from scratch, how hard would it be for the mother?

"So where is this party?" Orihime was secretly hoping it was nearby in case she wanted to make a run for it.

"Not that far."

Orihime exhaled and before she could even say anything else she'd been shoved roughly into a car. She gaped, for a granny of her age Hana still had monstrous strength, it had occurred to her that Hana could probably do most things you'd never expect people her age let alone the majority of what people could do. It was then Orihime realised that no one was present in the driving seat so the conclusion she drew was that…

Her blood turned cold. Oh God. Hana was going to drive. Before she could even stop the grandma the car had already started up. Orihime placed a hand over her eyes to avoid seeing anything, this was going to be the ride of hell and sure enough the car sped off at an incredible speed that Orihime swore her hair was going to fall off. In front of the driver's seat she could hear Hana cackling like a mad witch as they swerved to the left. There was no point in telling the old lady to slow down because she wouldn't listen anyway, it wasn't an assumption, it was a fact. Hana glanced over her shoulder and cracked up laughing when she saw Orihime curl up into a ball, "Oh lighten up princess!"

Orihime didn't answer.

Hana violently turned the steering wheel right throwing Orihime against the door; it hadn't occurred to her that she'd probably be bruising on her arms the next day, then again she was an easy bruiser.

It suddenly became extremely quiet, which was strange if Hana was around as she would be the one doing the talking. However this time Hana remained silent for reasons Orihime wasn't completely sure of, but it got her worried for the old lady sitting in front.

"Hana?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is something wrong?"

The car stopped to a sudden halt when red lights appeared on the pedestrian and then after a brief moment Hana turned around, "Why?"

"You seem…" Orihime paused to try find the appropriate word to fit the next sentence, "…quiet?"

Hana sighed and shuffled herself back to face the front, "I guess there's no point in hiding it. You're soon going to find out anyway…and Ulquiorra."

"What…is it?" Orihime asked hesitantly. She was sure that it couldn't be good news especially when she said Ulquiorra's name like that.

"You do you about Ulquiorra's past right?"

She paused to think, "You mean the girl…Sakura?"

Hana snorted, "Yeah that girl. I guess you're more perceptive than we thought. How much do you know?" The pedestrian light turned green and they were off again but slighter slower than they had started off with.

"Well I know she's…an ex lover of Ulquiorra."It really pained Orihime to mention that but the past was just the past. What harm could she do?

"Not just an ex lover. She was Ulquiorra's first love."

"I…understand. She was beautiful wasn't she?"

Hana snorted loudly, "She may have beauty but she can't compare to you! The scheming little witch-"

Orihime interrupted Hana before her language got too explicit, "So what about her?"

Hana stayed quiet for a while and then softly she answered, "She's back and she wants Ulquiorra back too."

Orihime's blood turned cold but her face remained calm, she had suspected as much from her instincts with were unusually accurate, "How is she supposed to find him?"

Hana sighed, "Just a few day into your honeymoon Tina received a phone call…she was muttering something and then she requested Ulquiorra to get on the phone."

Orihime sat up an inch straighter absorbing everything in, nodding as Hana continued on. None of the latest news really shocked her but it was still surprising to find someone could be that persistent after years.

"…and then she just put the phone down."

Orihime blinked, "That's it?"

"No, she did mutter something again before she did so, sounded like she was angry. So Tina and I have decided to take extra precaution."

Orihime raised her eyebrows. Hana paused, "We're placing some police force members around your house and a body guard with you at all times."

Orihime's jaw dropped, "I'm sorry. What?"

Hana didn't seemed to understand what Orihime's question was about, "We've got links to the second division's captain. Captain Soifon, head of the covert ops. So there's no need to worry."

Great…now there would be absolutely zero privacy between herself and Ulquiorra and the 'police' would be sure to inform Hana about their midnight activities, not that there would be any. "Hana don't you think that's going a little far?" Orihime managed to stammer.

Hana ignored her, "We're almost there!"

"But Hana-"

"We're here!"

Orihime whirled round to the car window, her jaw dropped again a the colossal sight before her. It was like Tina had hired Buckingham palace for the night. The venue was…huge! Orihime began to wonder how much it cost to hire it for a night.

As if she could read Orihime's mind Hana then added, "This is our second home."

"Say what?"

"Nothing, nothing." Hana smirked. Orihime frowned but continued to gaze out the window, gobsmacked at the sight before her. She touched the window as if assuring herself it wasn't a dream, it was like a fairytale. She could mentally slap herself for not considering what she was getting into before marriage. My god…what kind of family had she married in to. One foot out of line and she was sure to be dead, they even owned some of the elite police force!

Sure enough a clicking sound was present, and then the car doors were opened by footmen dressed in elaborate gold clothing, they held out their gloved hands in return for the ladies. Hana took it and hopped out whilst Orihime hesitated. She glanced up at Hana who only nodded encouragingly. Orihime sighed, took the gloved hand leaping out elegantly out the car and followed in pursuit after Hana.

As they entered the venue, the sound of blaring music came rushing out. If Orihime didn't know better it sounded more like an R&R club. It looked like one too, there were millions of people dotted all over the place with their hands waved in the air as they busted down some dance moves. Orihime could smell several different scents but all of which contributed to a unique smell of sweat and fruits. As Orihime made her way further into the 'party' she noticed her friends waving enthusiastically at her, urging her to come over.

Once united with them they had wasted no time in discussing about their current lives. Orihime was morally surprised to hear that Grimmjow had given Nel a diamond necklace recently seeing how he didn't harbour any special feelings towards her, or so she had thought…

Furthermore Rangiku's love had up and disappeared again though he'd send her boxes of chocolates with cards every day to keep Rangiku happy as he could, not that the poor woman still wasn't a little heartbroken and confused. Orihime made a note to personally kill the bastard when she found him and get a proper explanation of what was really going on.

The clock had ticked by so fast and the drinks were rolling in for the girls as they continued the whole night talking about lady things, despite the blaring music and the constant interruption of random people who'd come by to say 'hi' and congratulate Orihime on her wedding.

When the alcohol had finally sunk in into Orihime's brain and she was starting to feel a little dizzy. She excused herself and headed for the bathroom though at that moment Rangiku and Nel had decided that their stomachs weren't too good on alcohol either and followed her.

Hana was left all alone but she grinned at the opportunity to put her plan in her action. She glanced to the left and then to the right, checking if anybody was looking. Nobody was, they were all too busy, immersed in dancing and getting further acquainted in a man's libido. She grinned reached in her purse for something and then withdrew a small silver packet that Unohana had given her in secret. She ripped open the top before slipping the contents inside into Orihime's white wine. The contents dissolved into the wine leaving no trace of its original colour behind. Hana laughed lightly and slipped the, now empty, packet back into her bag just in time before Orihime returned from the loo.

"How are you feeling my dear?" Hana inquired as Orihime slipped a seat next to her.

Orihime raised the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip, "Exhausted." Orihime gulped the rest of her wine down hungrily even though she was aware she could be drunk already.

"The night is still young. Enjoy yourself whilst you can." Hana grinned cheekily, "Did you take the medicine Unohana gave?"

Orihime blushed lightly and quickly placed her empty wine glass back down on the table. She didn't know what to say and she was a crap liar which was ironic because she was lying about her relationship with Ulquiorra yet they hadn't been caught in the act yet, "Erm…"

Hana laughed, "It's alright… I have faith you did. Remember to take some tonight though!" She patted her back, "Go and enjoy yourself now. You don't want to hang around an old granny." Gently she nudged Orihime off into the crowd of excited girls. Orihime gave her a confused look but only gained an urging look back from the old granny.

"Won't you be lonely?"

"I'm leaving now."

"Why?" Orihime inquired.

"My work here is complete."

"What do you mean?"

Hana smirked, "That's for me to know and you to find out." She tapped the rim of her wrinkled nose and turned for the exit, leaving with an inerasable grin on her face that left Orihime baffled.

**…**

"Woman. You are drunk." Ulquiorra stated upon tasting wine on her lips after an unexpected kiss when she just leaped in from the doorway. In the distance he could see a taxi driving off and assumed that was show she got home. A small cold night breeze rolled in bringing the foul stench of alcohol along with it. He glanced at the outfit she was wearing and boy was he never more attracted to the sight. As Grimmjow would say; pure sex on legs…

"Says who?" Her speech slurred and her eyes were hooded.

"I can smell alcohol."

Orihime giggled, pink cheeks now turning red. Her posture was rather saggy and she was supporting most of her weight onto him as she clutched onto his neck, "I'm not drunk." She released herself from him and aimed to give him a playful punch but missed his arm thus lurching her body to the left. Before she could fall Ulquiorra caught her in his arms earning an innocent giggle from the maiden in his clasp. "Silly" She crooned.

"I'm going to make you some coffee to sober up." He stated as he pulled her inside with a sigh. He knew he shouldn't have let Hana take her for this party, true his granny did offer for him to come but he had refused due to work. Of all the times to say no, it had to be today. He wanted nothing more than to put Orihime to bed, unfortunately Orihime was being a lousy walker, always tripping up on nothing but air and so he picked her ups by the hips and threw her over his shoulder.

"Ulquiorra!" She cried in surprise.

"I don't want you breaking your ankles when you're not walking properly. Tonight I'll be your taxi."

She took him literally and wailed before she cried out, "But I don't have money to pay Mr Taxi man!"

He chuckled and joked as he walked towards his bedroom, "I'm a nice taxi guy. I'll let you go for free."

She paused letting a smile appear on her features and laughed, "Go faster then!"

He ignored her and calmly continued to stroll down the hallway. She smiled widely, "I like teddy bears."

"That's an odd thing to say if you're sober."He said with a little sarcasm.

"Ulqui, is like my teddy bear!" Orihime exclaimed, clapping her hands with excitement. Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at her naivety and immaturity. She giggled like a maniac.

"How so?" he asked trying to keep her distracted from jiggling around on his shoulder. She wasn't exactly the lightest person. He couldn't care the least that she'd given him a nickname. He had to admit though she said the most interesting things when drunk.

"He's warm, soft and cute!" She squealed clasping her hands together and bringing it towards her face. Ulquiorra opened his bedroom door, reaching out to the side to flick on the lights. He stopped at the foot of his bed.

"I see. This is your stop." Slowly he lowered her down onto the puffy blankets. She clutched onto the back of his neck staring up lovingly at his face. Though she may have been drunk she'd always known that she loved those green eyes since day 1.

"I love my teddy bear." She whispered tilting her head up to kiss him full on the lips. He kissed back up with as much devotion as she'd given him and pulled away slowly to gaze into her silver eyes. She released his neck.

"I am going to make you some coffee." He said as he began to remove himself off his bed but before Ulquiorra could even comprehend what had happened he found his view blocked by a pair of rather large breasts. He realised his girlfriend was hovering above him when he glanced up to see a devilish smirk form across her pink lips.

"Not so fast, pretty boy…" She whispered seductively.

"Orihime-" he began when stopped by a pair of soft lips crashing down upon his. Her lips tasted pretty sweet for someone drunk and it felt very warm. Sure this wasn't the first time he'd kissed her but this was the first time they had kissed this passionately. His eyes widened as he felt a tongue flick across his bottom lip, begging for entrance. He did not respond, not out of decline but out of shock. Orihime pressed her palms down onto his now pressured shoulders, pinning him down onto the bed. She straddled his hips positioning herself perfectly in the centre. She continued to flick her tongue occasionally across his lips, she wasn't going to give up until he surrendered. Finally he opened his lips allowing her tongue access to explore his sweet mouth. The kiss was intoxicating and his arms moved to wrap themselves around her petite waist. She nibbled against his bottom lip. It seemed to Ulquiorra they were not going to be doing anything else other than kiss for a few minutes, he was wrong…

Ulquiorra let out a little groan when he felt her hips grinding against him. It was almost a relief, at least she hadn't hit _that_ spot yet but he was already semi aroused from her actions. Hopefully she wouldn't notice. But she had. Nothing escaped her. Disappointed with his reaction she positioned her nether regions lower and ground against him, hard. He let out a groan at the sudden jolt of pleasure from her ministration.

_Damn thought to soon._

She smirked against his lips when she could feel the arousal growing from beneath her. Half through pleasure he could just about comprehend that he was growing fully aroused, and fast. Orihime ground against him once again, desiring the sounds that escaped his lips and to her pleasure he let out a lower pitched groan that sounded from deep within his chest. Her hands trailed down from caressing his abs down to the zipper of his pants but before they could make it there she felt his cold hand clutching onto her wrist. Ulquiorra broke the kiss. She frowned, "What's wrong?"

"We shouldn't, you're drunk. I don't want to take advantage of you." He panted out breathlessly.

Her eyebrows knitted together in frustration, "I'm not drunk."

"You are and you're a _virgin_." He added desperately. Everything was going too fast. Damn, he wasn't exactly helping himself either. The fact that she was a virgin made him think of things he wanted to do to her; things he _had_ to do to her before anyone else could.

"I want you and you want me. Take me." She stated before hungrily attacking his lips again.

Slapping himself mentally to restore at least a little dignity, he replied sharply after breaking away, "It's not right Orihime!"

She didn't argue and continued with her ministration, grounding against his arousal harder than the first time round. He almost choked out but let out another moan. It was too good. He didn't want her to stop but she had to! Her hands wandered around his abdomen feeling every single muscle tense at her touch. In her head she began mapping out every single contour of his chest, enjoying caressing the blissful skin beneath her palms.

He let out an even louder desperate groan of need when she crushed down against him and jolted her hips forward roughly jerking his hard arousal with it. "Shit." Was his only response.

Orihime smirked, "You want me…" Slowly she began nipping at his neck as she wiggled her hips at an intoxicatingly slow pace. Ulquiorra couldn't reply, he was in too much pleasure to realise her hands had succeeded in unzipping his trousers. He was aroused and she was so very wet, they were in need for each other and they were alone, but it was too soon. They had only just come together and fixed their issues.

"Don't." He grunted when he sensed a danger. She had to stop but she wouldn't and her hands were now attentively stroking him through his boxers. Damn this woman and her stamina and persistency!

"Damn." He cursed, hissing through his teeth as she gripped him. His cheeks flushed his breathing uneven and his heartbeat pulsing every millisecond. Orihime increased the speed and stroked him harder and faster adding a squeeze every few seconds as she kissed him fiercely.

"Fuck me." She whispered seductively, adding another squeeze to emphasize her point.

He was so close to giving in, wincing as he tried to suppress his wild side from coming out. Then the pleasure just disappeared leaving him confused, reality flooded back. Exactly how long had they been doing this? Why had she stopped? If she continued just a little further he would have given her what she wanted. It wasn't till he felt a head on his shoulders and heard soft breathing that he understood. He turned his head and found her to be sleeping; she'd been knocked straight out from the alcohol.

Ulquiorra sighed in relief laying there for a couple of second to catch his breath and them removed himself from beneath her, slowing rolling her off onto the space next to him and tucking her neatly in bed. His emerald eyes glanced at her soft features as she dozed peacefully. He hadn't taken advantage of something beautiful, and he was glad, how could he? She was his princess and he would never do anything to make her regret it. Though it had never occurred to him that she had probably wanted to do this for a long time he believed that she should want to keep her virginity until after marriage. Until the time came for her to find that one person to come along and sweep her away, he knew he'd be the only one in her life for now and after all she'd been through, she deserved to be treated like the princess she truly was.

Zipping up his pants, Ulquiorra headed guiltily for the shower room. _Now for a cold shower...The joys of being a man..._

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. A crap but at least updated chapter. Reviews and constructive critisms appreaciated! **


	24. A Gift from God

**A/N:**** I have had THE worst month! Exams first and then halfway through I caught the cold which I didn't heal from for 2 weeks and then the flu came along and struck me down! Nevertheless I've been trying to write at every moment I can and meanwhile the reviews kept builing up so I just want to thank all my followers for taking the time to review. It means a lot to me. **

**Without further ado here is Chapter 24! **

* * *

**Stay with me**

**Chapter 24 – A Gift From God**

"Gaaaahh, what time is it?" Orihime mumbled from under her pillows when her daily alarm began ringing. Her head was throbbing all over, her legs felt like jelly gone to shit and never had the sun been so blinding. When no one answered she lifted her head letting her messy auburn hair fall into her face, she glanced over to the desk through half-closed eyes and could see the digital numbers of nine and thirty shiny brightly in luminescent green.

"Too early…" She groaned lifting out her hand to slam down the snooze button before throwing her head back into the pillows and snuggling back under the covers. Of all the times to have the worse hangovers, it just had to be today. Her head persisted to throb uncontrollably and nothing came to mind when she tried to recall what exactly she'd been doing the night before. It wasn't until she realised that the dress she had been wearing the night before was unzipped fully letting her lacy black bras spill into view. Panicking she immediately shot up from the bed trying to get a good view of herself and her current state, the mirror that had been standing next to her wardrobe revealed all.

There on the bed sat a youthful girl, her apricot hair messy and in an unfixable tangle, her eyes seemed bright but around her eyes were long unsightly smudges of mascara and eye liner that trailed down along the pale white skin. Her lips were swollen but not so much it that it would make one seem beastly. Orihime almost gasped at the image of her she lifted her fingers and gently brushed her finger tips along her bottom lip, it stung slightly and she winced.

"Oh my God, what did I do?"

Her questions were going to be answered when a single knock on the door offered her a chance to find out what exactly went on the night before.

"Orihime, are you awake?"

It was Ulquiorra, instantly she leaped of the bed and nailed herself against the door, "Don't come in!" He could not see her like this! She looked…well, hideous…

There was shuffling outside, like he'd shifted his weight, "May I ask why?"

The innocence and confusion in his voice only made Orihime press herself harder against the door, praying to god that he wouldn't suddenly decide to kick down the door. "I'm getting changed." She lied using the only available excuse that came to mind.

Ulquiorra chuckled, "I'm not stupid and I know you're standing by the door, but if you really don't want me coming in for reasons I don't quite understand, fine." He shifted again and Orihime had taken it that he'd backed off. Then she waited until his footsteps disappeared into the distance. Once sure that the coast was clear she began to run herself a shower, after all, a girls gotta look good for the boyfriend and she wanted the evidence of whatever she did last night to be invisible. Unbeknownst to her, Ulquiorra quietly snuck back into her bedroom and popped a seat on her bed. Last night _she'd_ almost taken advantage of him and he was not happy at how things could have turned out.

It had occurred to him the first they'd met that she would be one of those people with low morals but as he got to know her his eyes could only see the angel within her, as if he'd forgotten her devilish ways altogether, as if her angel outshone her devil and the he realised that he _hadn't _forgotten. He'd seen it many times but had decided against his own morals to play with her devil side. No, what had happened last night were the consequences of playing with fire and that he had liked the new sensation, he had let his guard down to vulnerability and it was refreshing. So today he'd come again for round two with the devil and this time, he'd be the one controlling the reigns.

The bathroom door clicked open, steam emitted through the cracks and Orihime stumbled out with just a mere towel wrapped around her body. Her auburn hair stuck against her face and the rest trailed marvellously down her back. Ulquiorra felt bad for his purpose of being here but then again he was up for a little game in the morning.

Orihime was unaware of the guest in her room and proceeded to make her way to open her curtains and windows. Hands outstretched she breathed in the scent of freshly mowed grass that breezed in past her face, there was nothing better in the morning than a hot shower and a cool summer scented breeze. Ulquiorra watched in slight amusement at her cluelessness, he was enjoying the sight in front of him, it was a shame to ruin it. He cleared his throat to make his presence known. Orihime whirled round and let out a shriek.

She clutched her towel as if trying to cover herself up more, "Ulquiorra! What are you doing here?"

He stood up from the bed and grinned, "I came here for some unfinished business with you."

Orihime found herself shuddering at his…husky voice. The way he said that made it so…seductive? Orihime could feel her hormones raging fast; it wasn't long till the heat began burning in between her legs. Shit. "What business do I have with my boyfriend?"

One brief glance at the floor and the next minute she looked up and he was standing right in front of her face.

"What the-" She began.

"Last night…" He took one smooth step towards her, then another, "…you never finished something that you started."

Orihime found herself moving away from him, backing away slowly with every advance forward he took. "Oh?" she replied innocently. It wasn't that she was scared but there was something in his eyes that made the alarm bells in her head ring. His whole demeanour had changed. She didn't want to run from him, it made her seem weak and wish fulfilment came in the form of the wall, which she had unwittingly decided to back herself into. Her hands moved from clutching her towel and splayed out against its cold cream surface as if it was the only thing holding her from insanity from whatever event was about to take place. Ulquiorra's shadow fell over her as he came closer still, Orihime could feel herself freeze up. Slowly Ulquiorra withdrew his hand from his pocket and slammed his palm against the wall beside her face. Her eyes widened and she let out a squeak. Other than that everything became quiet. He ducked his face level to hers as he placed his other hand beside the other side of her head and stared deep into her eyes.

Orihime found herself confronted by his mesmerising eyes once again. There was no expression upon his face but from the eyes she could tell he was going to do something to her. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his. _Nothing is happening_, she told herself even as his face leered in closer. Her breathing had stopped for a moment and so when she tried breathing in again it almost came as a gasp from the sudden intake of air. His head moved beside hers and she felt a wet hot sensation close to her ear lobe. Did he just…_lick _her? Maybe she was going mad with insanity. She had to be. There was no way that Ulquiorra, of all people, was doing this to her, or was the world perhaps ending?

Either way both seemed like a liable reasons for his strange actions. She felt a nibble on her ear lobe and she had to admit, she was getting aroused, he'd found her sensitive spot. Curse her body; she couldn't believe the embarrassing reactions her body was forming with such a simple but stupid actions, if it wasn't bad enough she was wrapped up in a towel which further enticed her need to get intimate.

Orihime let out a small moan and that she felt a smirk form across Ulquiorra's lips. His lips moved lower, onto the crook of her neck as he did so; he pushed his body roughly against Orihime, her nether regions becoming wet from his ministrations. He moved his head back up to the lobe of her ear after sensing it was her weakest point and gave it another lick. With that, Orihime began to feel a bit lethargic. Her eyelids drooped, suddenly heavy as a weight bore them down and her body burning hot with passion. God did she want to fuck the shit out of this man. Her grip on the wall behind her loosened as her arms dropped to her sides, useless, like a dolls.

Ulquiorra thrust his body against hers again and she let out a slight moan. She found that she couldn't stand; his body alone was pressing her full weight up against the wall. Automatically her legs began to wrap themselves around his waist. She couldn't take it, her once limp arms snapped up into what little space there was between them, her nails gripping into the front of his shirt, fisting the material. Her lips parted as she let out another moan.

Satisfied, Ulquiorra removed his hands off the wall, gliding them along every contour of her body until they hovered upon her waist and then nestled neatly under her creamy thighs and then without warning or second thought to spare his girlfriend some mercy, his lips pulled back and one human like canine met her tender peach like skin that stretched across her throat.

That was it. Her back came off of the wall, arching into a perfect bridge and into his chest. He was really going to do it wasn't he?

Her lips then slipped a moan in the form of a word, "Ulquiorra." It was the desired sound he had been meaning to get out of her. _Success_. Proud of his achievement Ulquiorra suddenly pulled away, removing himself slowly off her body and allowing her feet to adjust back to gravity and the fingers that had gripped his shirt so tightly like claws of prey, loosened. He slipped his hands swiftly back into his pocket and smirked as he watched Orihime catch her breath back in a daze.

"What…" She began as she blinked frantically. Reality came seeping back slowly as she regained recollection of the mind blowing event that had just come and gone all too suddenly.

"That was for last night."

Glancing into his eyes she found his amusement in them, "I don't understand."

"You will, in your own time." With that, he turned on his heels and left her, shocked and confused.

Ah…Revenge had never been any sweeter.

**…**

"He did what?"

"I know right!" Orihime wailed in agreement to Rukia.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Nel, I was wrapped up in a towel. What could I do? Tell him to piss off?"

Rangiku reached over to take a sip of her lemonade, she squinted up into the sunny sky, "Perhaps he really did want to make love."

Orihime chuckled and took a long sip of her ice tea in frustration, the slight euphoric feeling hadn't really faded yet, "I think if he wanted to do that I wouldn't have called you over. He just…left me in such a daze. "

"He may have left you, but who knows what was going through his head when he walked out." Tatsuki countered. "For all you know he may have been seriously aroused."

Orihime shot a glare at Tatsuki's suggestion; she only grinned in response and began innocently sucking from her straw.

"Yeah, and what kind of an idiot would leave a girl alone in _that_ state?" Rukia added sarcastically. "Beside's who in the right mind to pass an opportunity with _that_?" She pointed at Orihime who only wailed.

"Am I really that repelling to people!"

"Oh no sweetie, not repelling. On the contrary actually; extremely attracting." Rangiku assured with a grin that got Orihime worried.

"I am not!" Orihime replied indignantly though slightly flustered and proud by her comment.

"Orihime, have you not seen the news lately?"

"No, I'm lazy and what's the news got anything to do with this conversation Nel?"

"The media. Currently the only things that everyone is talking about are your wedding, your beauty and…"

"And what?" Orihime demanded leaning further into the circle of women.

"The cute babies you two are gonna make!" Nel trilled.

Orihime blushed a dark shade of red, barely unable to look at anyone in the eyes. Rangiku decided to join Nel in the squeaking and squealing, whilst Tatsuki merely rolled her eyes and Rukia grinned whilst rubbing her swollen belly soothingly.

"No way!" Orihime said. "There is no way I'm having a baby let alone several babies!"

Rangiku frowned, "Why not?"

"Babies are just so…ugly and annoying." She cringed at the thought of having to change diapers. Yeah, there was no way in hell she was having a baby and she was sure Ulquiorra shared the same views. Then she turned to Rukia who looked slightly peeved. "No offence Rukia."

Rukia smiled, "None taken." She took a sip of her fruit cocktail, slouching deeper into her chair.

Rangiku raised her eyebrows, "But with your DNA and your hot shot of a husband you'll have the most beautiful baby on the planet!" Rangiku's eyes had gone all round and shiny, like she'd seen the light of God. Her hands were suspended in midair so dramatically Orihime began to question her sanity until the strawberry blond closed her fingers and began giggling, "Well, you're only the second most beautiful person here, I am." She joked. The others laughed and stopped when they suddenly heard a beautiful melody coming from inside the house. The birds close by began tweeting in harmony with each other and the mysterious tune much to the girl's amusement when they looked up to the birch tree where they nested.

Rukia being the first to calm down asked quietly out of curiosity what it was. Orihime only answered with a soft smile as she lifted a palm to touch her chest where her heart would be located, "That's Ulquiorra, playing his heart for me to hear."

"It's beautiful…Is this something he wrote for you a few months back?" Tatsuki asked as they listened to every note that flowed out the house and into their ears. Rangiku and Nel closed their eyes and swayed softly with the breeze of the outside and tune that came from the inside.

"No. If it's Ulquiorra playing, I know he's composed this today." Orihime boasted proudly.

"Wow. Your husband's amazing. To be able to play such a beautiful tune from scratch shows real talent." Nel sighed in a daydream without opening her eyes. "I wish I had someone like that."

"Me too." The other girls crooned in agreement as they joined Nel and Rangiku in their 'dreaming state'. The music was so warming and welcoming; Orihime felt her heart would explode. Never had she heard such a beautiful melody. For a moment Orihime considered closing her eyes too only when the song had finished all too suddenly and the warmth from her heart seemed to disappear slowly as the birds finished in synchronisation with the last dying notes of the piano keys.

"That was amazing." Nel swooned. "And is that's his heart playing for you he must seriously love you."

"Oh god." Rukia choked out suddenly.

Everyone glanced at the raven heads direction in shock. Rukia had never been the one to curse or swear for the time Orihime had known her, so today it seemed like a shock for the sudden outburst which sounded like Rukia thought of Orihime's marriage to Ulquiorra was a joke. Orihime scrunched her face up, offended at Rukia's tone of voice, "I'm sorry. What was that?" She glanced at Rukia whose face had gone pale and then she became worried, forgetting about her original thought, "Rukia?"

Slowly Rukia breathed out, "My water broke. I think I'm in labour."

The blood from everyone's faces drained as they glanced down at the wet prominent patch on the chair Rukia was sitting in.

Orihime's jaw dropped in horror. What the hell was God playing at?

**…**

Ulquiorra had been summoned straight away when Orihime had run off to call him. Tatsuki had taken the liberty to contact Rukia's husband, Renji and various other friends and part family. Nel and Rangiku had rushed beside Rukia to hold her currently sweaty hands whilst yelling out words of encouragement to bear with the pain of contraction. When Orihime returned with Ulquiorra, who had almost turned just as pale as Rukia, that moment they had both decided that having children was definitely not an option. Nel and Rangiku had helped Rukia into Ulquiorra's car when instructed to and Rukia was whisked off on the way to the hospital once safely inside the vehicle with almost everybody accompanying her. Orihime noticed at how her pants became heavier and needier and her chest rose and fell at a rapid rate, how her body shook at every possible contraction and how much strain she was in from the pain. It was horrible to witness but as a friend she decided to support Rukia so once they arrived at the hospital Orihime had made sure that she'd spoken to the doctor to give her best friend the most comfortable room with the best members of staff to help speed up the process.

Shortly Rukia had been admitted Renji had arrived, flustered from running, with his group of friends and only he had been allowed to enter the room in which Rukia had been allocated in. Everyone waited outside pale faced and very scared as Rukia's shrieks and screams pierced through the air like blades. Ulquiorra had decided to get some coffee to freshen himself up and walked away from the scene almost too quickly. Soon after Rangiku had decided to follow Ulquiorra in hopes to get refreshments themselves, Nel had decided to leave and wait outside the hospital for Grimmjow's arrival.

Orihime on the other had had been focused on something else or rather someone else. Ichigo. He was standing across the hall from her, his chocolate eyes intensely fixed upon hers and hers alone. She gave him a cold hateful glare hoping to make her message perfectly clear but clearly he had either chosen to ignore it or was blind as he shifted himself of the wall and began making his way to sit beside her. Once seated, Orihime shifted away from him, her eyes off his form and staring coldly at the ceiling whilst her lips formed into a small pout.

Ichigo smirked lightly, "Hime, you can't avoid me forever. We have a date tomorrow."

"Don't call me that!" She hissed through gritted teeth as she turned towards him. There was another scream from Rukia causing Ichigo and Orihime to snap their heads up in the direction. Orihime resumed back to her harsh reply, "I don't care about the date. You'll never take me away from Ulquiorra."

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply but before he could get a word out Orihime had stood up, her face right in front of his, cold and unforgiving, "If you ever hurt Ulquiorra, I will make sure that I'll do a thorough job of killing you right on the spot. Hell will look so much better when I'm done with you."

Ichigo smirked, the least intimidated by her threat. He knew she didn't have the guts to do so and he knew that somewhere hidden beneath her cold glare she still loved him, "I'd like to see you try."

Frustrated her threat hadn't taken root; Orihime let out a snarl and balled up her fists, whilst Ichigo merely kept smirking proudly. Just in time Ulquiorra returned looking much better and holding two cups of fresh coffee, Ichigo's smirk dropped instantly.

Ulquiorra spotted his wife's expression and made didn't hesitate to approach her, ignoring Ichigo's glares of protests, much to Ichigo's disappointment. Ulquiorra nudged Orihime gently with his elbow, she looked up almost too quickly and without thinking she tiptoed to his face level and gave him a mind blowing kiss. Ichigo watched the scene before him in shock and proceeded to stalk off into the corridors angrily, cursing bitterly.

When Orihime pulled away she rested her head against her husband's shoulder, resuming her original stance. Confused, Ulquiorra merely stood there letting her do what she wanted, allowing himself to rest his cheek upon the top of her head. "What was the kiss for?" He murmured softly.

Orihime shrugged, "I love you."

"Hmmm, odd excuse." He commented softly. Orihime inhaled, falling into pure bliss at his scent. Then came the wisp of coffee bean scent.

Orihime glanced at his hands which were currently clutching around two small cups and she grinned, "Is that for me?"

"Of course."

Grinning wider she took the cup and took a sip, letting the hot liquid play along her taste buds, "It tastes good."

"Hmmmm."Ulquiorra hummed as he himself proceeded to drink the contents.

The couple both jumped in shock when Rukia screamed again. Both had temporarily forgotten that Rukia was still in labour. Orihime glanced at the clock and calculated that it had been 3 hours roughly and steadily approaching 4, she frowned. God did child birth sound like a pain.

"Poor Rukia." Orihime heaved with a sigh.

"Hmmmm?"

"She's going through all this pain, just to give birth to a single baby."

Ulquiorra frowned, "I think she knows what she's doing. At some point we must've caused our mums some sort of pain too." He paused when he noticed how Orihime went quiet at the mention of her mother. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No. I'm not upset. It's okay. I can't really remember her well. It's been… so long since I've talked about her. I mean…I've never really known how much she loved me." Orihime mumbled coherently as she stared at the floor, retreating further into her lover's chest.

After a while Ulquiorra spoke up, "For all it's worth, you know I love you, right?"

"Umm hmmm."

Ulquiorra leaned down to kiss her forehead before moving down to give her lips a quick lingering kiss. "I'd say it 1000 times and over."

"You can be really romantic y'know?" Orihime mused as she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him in. "Whatever happened to the jerk Ulquiorra?"

"I just can't be bothered to say it that many times." Ulquiorra added with a grin.

Orihime hit him on the head gently, "And he's back." She gave him a quick peak on the lips, "And I can guarantee that's what Mr Moron will be getting for today."

Ulquiorra smirked down at Orihime, "What about the nice me?"

Orihime giggled with a wink, "That's for him to know and him to find out when he decides to quit hiding."

**…**

An hour later, when everyone had seemed to settle down anxiously outside Rukia's room, they heard the desperate cries of a child and it didn't take long for them to realise that Rukia had finally given birth. As soon as Renji appeared to give the all clear signal that the baby was indeed born the girls had instantly rushed into the room and stampeded around Rukia's bed where the raven haired women lay flustered and sweaty. Painted across her pale dry lips were the faintest of smiles and she ushered out hoarse words to her best friends, "I did it."

In her arms she held a blue bundle, Orihime approached closer to get a glance and saw that a little pink face had poked it's nose out from it blanket. Though it was still crying Orihime could see that he had inherited his mother's looks with the odd tuffs of red hair from his father. Everyone else cooed at the sight of the screaming child. What was so interesting about such a loud thing? Orihime wondered quietly.

Rukia caught Orihime peaking curiously at the child and smile weakly, "He hasn't opened his eyes yet. Do you want to hold him?" She offered her arms out for Orihime to take.

In shock Orihime shook her head and waved her hand, "I can't hold babies."

Rukia persisted to hand Orihime the baby, "It's fine. You'll be okay. Just hold your arms into a cradle."

Quietly without argument Orihime did as she was told and positioned her arm in an awkward cradle shape. Rukia leaned forward and placed the screaming child into Orihime's arms. As soon as the baby made contact with Orihime's skin it's wailing ceased much to the surprise of everyone in the room. Rukia smiled, "I think he likes you."

For a moment Orihime felt her heart flutter and her thoughts on having a baby wavered. She glanced down at the small bundle in her arms and as if the wind was blowing she swayed softly from side to side. Instantly the boy's eyes fluttered open to reveal the prettiest dark violet eyes one could ever see. Orihime noticed how they were just a shade lighter than Rukia's and decided that this moment she was going to be a part of this baby's life. "They're beautiful." She whispered to herself.

"Aren't they?" Nel agreed as she leaned over to peer at the baby. "Can I hold him?"

Orihime glanced at Rukia who nodded and she reluctantly plopped the baby into Nel's arms, never taking her eyes of him. As the time past Orihime watched the baby being passed round and round until he was safely back into his proud parents arms. She smiled when she saw how happy they were and seemed as if they were practically glowing with pride. All that struggling to bring one life into the world seemed to be worth it. Perhaps having a baby wouldn't be so bad…

Ulquiorra touched her shoulder lightly and she turned around startled, "Ulquiorra."

"Shall we go home now?"

Orihime spared one last glance at the happy couple with the newborn in their arms and turned back to Ulquiorra, "Sure."

Ulquiorra lifted out her coat for her to put one and she willingly slipped her arms in the sleeves. He held out his hand for hers, "Then let's go." And together hand in hand they left the hospital building.

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_A/N: Well? I hope this chapter was a sexy but sweet one. As for Rukia's little family lets hope them the happiness they deserve; and Orihime? Lets pray it won't be long before herself and Ulquiorra start making a family of their own!_


	25. Strawberry and Cream

**A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far, I certainly am which explains the late update! Words of warning for this chapter, there is LIME towards the end. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it seemed somewhat 'glitchy' to me (I'll improve it when the story is complete). **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 25 – Strawberry & Cream**

She really couldn't believe she was going to say this. Of all things she'd ever done this had to be the stupidest decision. What was she thinking? Nevertheless the decision had been made and now she prayed Ulquiorra would answer her straight, no hesitation wanted.

"Ulquiorra?" She bit her lips nervously, her canines digging in hard on her lips.

He hummed in response, "Hmmmm?"

"I don't know how to say this. It's hard to phrase."

Ulquiorra put down the violin he was re-tuning. Amongst his talent as a pianist Orihime had also discovered that he was good with other instrument too. He was like a god when he played. Any instrument could be turned into his weapon of charm, the more the reason she'd fallen for him completely. He smiled, "What could possibly be hard to say? I know you aren't pregnant, perhaps you're ill?"

"No." she inhaled deeply, "I think I want something. No…it's hard to say…" She felt dizzy. She was going to get a migraine and faint soon if she kept breathing at this fast paced rate. Ulquiorra sensed her dizziness and unease; he pulled her wrist down so that she landed on his lap sitting comfortably.

"Then?" He hummed again.

"This may shock you…"

"Oh god. You really aren't pregnant are you?" He joked.

She stifled a small laugh, "No." then she returned to seriousness, "But…"

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at his wife, "But?"

She shut her eyes tightly and then in one breath she blurted out the words, "Ithinkweshouldhaveababy."

Astonished Ulquiorra turned to her giving his full attention wide eyed with shock, "What?"

"Y-you heard me. Let's have a baby."

He began rubbing his ears, still wide eyed, "I'm sorry. Am I really hearing this from my hell un-leasher-of-a-wife?"

Orihime pouted and punched him on the arm as hard as she could. "Ulquiorra!"

"That does hurt." Ulquiorra groaned.

Orihime continued to pout in annoyance crossing her arms over her chest to justify her point, "I'm serious! Cut the shit out."

As stubborn as he was, he decided it was best to listen to his wife for the sake of his face maintaining his precious face, she also looked scary when she was mad at him, so he sat and listened to what she had to say, "Go on then."

"I'm only suggesting this because you know what Hana's like. She's ill and she wants all her wishes fulfilled before she passes away in the next world. I felt bad about lying before but I feel worse if I don't do something that I'm not going to lie about. Yes I know that at first I didn't want a baby and that I may not be the best mother but at least I can try, and after seeing Rukia's baby it's really made me realise that it can't be that bad being a mum and all. So I'm willing to try for Hana's sake." Orihime stopped to take in Ulquiorra's reaction and still found that his face remained completely the same as it was before only now he looked ready to shot himself. "Ulquiorra?"

"I'm…not really sure that's a good idea."

Orihime titled her head to the side, pursing her lips, "Why?"

Ulquiorra suddenly laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head, "I mean…well…look at me, and look at you."

"What's wrong with us?"

"I'm not exactly…old enough to be a father yet, I'm only 22, I still have my career ahead of me and if something is to happen to Genryūsai I have to make sure that I'm prepared to take over. I can't be stuck with a baby to add on all my responsibilities and it's a guarantee I won't be there 24-7."

Orihime paused in consideration, "Then what about me?"

"Well you're still finding your feet and with all this Ichigo and Grimmjow stuff going on it's not the best time. Not to mention you're even younger than me."

"By one year!" Orihime protested poking her index finger out as if to gesture the number one.

Ulquiorra placed his hands over hers and lowered her arm until it rested neatly on her lap, "It still makes a difference in the world. No matter what reasons you come up with I'm still sticking with my plan to wait until the dusts settles before we start having our own family."

Orihime shook her head in defiance, "No you listen to me." She cupped his face with her hands softly and gazed deep into his eyes, "You've always probably taken the options on the safe side…"

Ulquiorra snorted and quietly mumbled, "Not with you I haven't."

"…but for once be a little spontaneous, a daredevil if you will!"

Ulquiorra cocked a brow, "By having a baby?"

"It could be really fun!"

"A baby is no walk in the park. It means huge responsibilities and not to mention you have to devote your time to this child." He warned in a stern tone. The biggest regret he knew his own mother had was having a baby so early in age; but nevertheless she loved him to bits and did everything in her power to make him happy.

Orihime caught a glimpse in his eyes and grinned, "I know. But I'm willing to try."

She batted her lids innocently as she awaited his reply and much to her surprise Ulquiorra groaned in defeat muttering, "Fine. We'll try for a baby."

Orihime smiled, "Yay!" and she threw her arms around his neck planting him a kiss upon his lips.

Ulquiorra struggled to keep his excited fair maiden contained within his arms but he grinned in response. "Wow. If I'd known you'd do that I would have said yes before." He joked before leaning in for another kiss.

Orihime savoured the moment for a bit before she gasped and leapt up from his lap, "Ichigo will be arriving soon." She frowned. "How do I look?"

Noticing her discomfort about the whole 'date' arrangement he complimented her, "Positively beaming."

"Good."

"But if that man so much tries anything funny on you I'll beat him into mash." Ulquiorra scowled bitterly.

Orihime giggled and gave him a quick peck on the nose, "Got it. I won't let him touch me."

Ulquiorra grinned as he stared lovingly at his wife. He placed an elbow upon his piano and cradled his face in his palms, "Where are you going to meet him?"

"Oh that's right; he sent a text and said something about meeting up at some café place." Orihime casually threw on her red coat and completed the look with a black scarf, it was said to be windy today on the forecast. "He said he'll drop me back here at around 8. In the mean time whilst I'm gone, what will you be doing?" She threw a glance at him and paused all her movements.

He shrugged, "My normal routine I guess."

Orihime raised an eyebrow as she reached for her handbag, "Which is?"

"Sighing and wondering at how I got so lucky to have a beautiful wife."

Orihime blushed pleasantly even though she knew it was sort of a mix of a compliment and a joke. Ah, yes. He'd always been a sweet talker since they'd gotten closer but no matter how many times he talked in that charming way she'd never gotten used to it. "I'm going now." She managed to stutter out as she hastily tried to make her way out the room, only to blush even more furiously when her tugging at the door was fruitless due to the fact that it was locked.

Ulquiorra chuckled in amusement and decided to help out a bit to spare her the humiliation. He stood up and walked towards her carefully wrapping one arm sneakily around her waist whilst placing his other hand on top of hers which was currently resting upon the door handle. Slowly he used his own fingers to pry her own off the door handle and then he carefully moved so that her fingers were grasping the lock. In one swift movement he turned her hand, thus turning the lock and the door swung open on its own accord. Orihime blushed harder than she'd ever done so before when she felt a pair of warm lips upon her neck. She could feel her ears and face getting dangerously hot to burning.

"Take care my princess." Ulquiorra mumbled.

Orihime could barely make out Ulquiorra's quiet husky voice but she smiled softly placing her hand softly against his arm around her waist. "I will; my love."

**…**

"Orihime!"

At the call of her name she turned around and there he was. Ichigo was standing beside the doors of the café with his arms waved up so she could spot him. He smiled widely and she merely groaned as she forced her feet to move to where he was, but much to her surprise Ichigo was the one who did the most walking. She could see just how happy he was merely by her presence, his eyes shone brightly and he smiled with ease. When Ichigo finally reached her he stopped a few centimetres away from her and merely stared as if he was taking in her form.

"Orihime…you're here…" He breathed.

She sniffed indignantly, "Well I had no choice." If Ichigo had been man enough to consider asking her about her opinions then maybe, just maybe she would've grown to like him a little more.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head and reluctantly replied, "Yeah, about that, I'm really sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it this time Kurosaki. You really messed up." She bit back harshly.

Orihime wondered when her attitude had become so bitter, just a few years ago she had loved this man but now she could hardly recognize her own voice. If she had known she'd come to hate him then perhaps she could have saved her heart all the trouble of _feeling_ all these years for him.

Hurt by her sudden harshness he flinched back slightly but nevertheless he tried to keep smiling, "I brought you a gift."

"Gifts aren't gonna make sorry seem okay."

He sighed hopelessly but admitted, "I know, I'm just trying to reach reconciliation with you."

Orihime remained quiet as she observed how he fumbled through his jacket to bring out her so said gift. Was he really being genuine? Did he really want her back or was he just using her because he had lost everything he once had? She glanced at his face, remembering all the masculine features and traits he'd possessed and though she still hated him in a way she began to feel sorry for him as she noticed the expression of sadness upon his face. That's right. Ichigo had lost everything… love, hope and faith. Even though it was too late for her heart to love him and him only she decided that he at least deserved one thing. Her friendship. Her heart would never be able to return to him and him alone but she could always make room for all the friends she held in regard as important and he would forever hold that special place in her heart.

"Here." Ichigo murmured as he handed over a small package to Orihime.

Eyebrows raised in suspicion she took it and lifted it to her ears, shaking it ever so slightly. It rattled but made no other sound. Ichigo chuckled, "Why don't you open it. It's not going to kill you."

Orihime tore open the wrapping and there in the centre lay a necklace, she frowned not quite understanding why Ichigo had thought this was supposed to amend their friendship. It wasn't long till she looked closer and realised the necklace was in fact a locket, further more she recognised it from nine years ago when her mother had given her this particular locket. During middle school Orihime had lost it and she could remember the devastation she felt when it had gone missing, it was the only thing she possessed that her parents had given her when they died. Nine years on, here it was back in her hands, given as a gift from her ex lover. Ichigo had found it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she clasped the locket in her palms bringing her closed fists to wipe her eyes as the tears spilled out. So many nights alone she cried herself to sleep because she had lost this one part of her mother and after painfully trying to forget it, it came back.

"Where did you find this?" Orihime whispered weakly as she tried to contain her sobbing.

"In the park where we used to play. It was lying underneath the oak tree where we used to sit beneath in the summer."

"Thank you, Ichigo." Orihime hiccupped between tears. God, she probably looked like a clown now.

As if reading her mind Ichigo complemented her, "You look beautiful."

Orihime blushed and looked up bashfully, her tears had stopped running her eyes were probably a little red and puffy but Ichigo seemed to care less about her appearance. He smiled, "Come, our day doesn't last long so let's go and enjoy ourselves while we still can."

Orihime couldn't help but smile as he grabbed her hand and gently tugged her along with him, "Where are we going?"

"To the ice cream parlour. Let's go before they sell out of ice cream."

And with that Orihime found herself feeling she was going to have a wonderful time indeed.

**…**

"Grimmjow. Where are you?"

"_I'm with Nel ya sick bastard. Go stalk Orihime yourself if yer tha' worried!" _Grimmjow scowled from the other line.

"Don't you care for her too?" Ulquiorra growled. "You did propose this 'date' arrangement as well you know."

"_Well yeah but-"_

Ulquiorra cut him off, "So then you will come with me and out will help me find out what those two are up to. I don't want my wife to get assaulted when I'm not there to protect her."

"_Ulquiorra, listen. Kurosaki's a good man. He won't do no shit without askin', if ya really don't like him then go an' beat tha crap outta him."_

Ulquiorra's green eyes narrowed, "Oh? And you think it's a good idea to do that whilst he' still holding that piece of paper hostage?"

"_Then steal it dumbass."_

For a moment Ulquiorra considered it as a good idea but then one thought came into mind, "What about your date with Orihime then?"

"_Well…"_ there was a long pause and for a second Ulquiorra wondered if the blue headed giant was having second thoughts about the date arrangement. Then perhaps…

"_Ahhhhhhhhh, forget it! Just go an' stalk her yourself_."Grimmjow yelled angrily, with that the phone line was suddenly cut off when Ulquiorra was about to respond. In frustration Ulquiorra almost slammed down his house phone back onto the charger and sulked off to lounge on the sofa. He couldn't help but feel concerned with the way Ichigo looked at Orihime with hungry eyes and with Orihime being so weak and helpless; there just had to be a better way to resolve this past lover's issue.

It dawned on Ulquiorra that he really was in love again for the first time in…well, years. Back a while ago when his heart had been broken his mother had told him on a cold winter day 'A heart goes through many stages; it gets broken by one; but in time it will be healed by another.'

Back then he didn't understand the meaning behind the words, it felt as if the world had all crashed down on him and now that the dust had settled he realised that his mum had been very wise.

It could have been hours and he didn't know how long it had been as he'd half dozen off to sleep but before he could sleep someone had rung the bell. He thought he knew what to expect as it was most likely his grandma and mother but when he opened the door he remained speechless and his body was frozen.

Soft brown hair blew past her snow white face along with the direction of the wind, eyelashes lifted up to reveal amber eyes flying up to meet his own. She turned her body to face him holding her locks of hair with a hand to keep them from blocking her view.

Ulquiorra looked down at her in disbelief whilst she gazed up, standing up significantly straighter to meet his stare.

Voice caught in his throat Ulquiorra only managed out one word, "Sakura."

Sakura smiled softly her arms crossed behind her back, eyes warm and welcoming as she tilted her head slightly to the side, "Hello, Ulquiorra."

**…**

Orihime strolled along the park excitedly, Ichigo following her every step from behind as he watched the princess happily spread her arms out to feel the breeze of air that blew by. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to Ichigo eye alit with the glowing warmth of the sun, "It's such a beautiful day."

Ichigo sighed as he gazed softly into her eyes, "Indeed it is."

Orihime grinned innocently unaware of Ichigo's growing affections for her at this very point, "Hey Ichigo…"

"Yes?" He hummed. To his ears her voice was like soft wind chimes in the summer breeze whenever she spoke his name. He would trade anything just to hear her say it again but he would trade _everything _to hear her _every day_.

"Can I have another ice cream?"

Not minding one bit he agreed with a silent nod and a quiet reply, "Sure."

The park was close by the high street but much to Ichigo's surprise Orihime had grabbed his wrist and pointed in the opposite direction where a small café was, it didn't seem particularly special in Ichigo's eyes as he had expected Orihime to go for the more popular brand of ice cream shops but then again Orihime was different and special and he couldn't help but feel this place would also be special in its own way too.

His assumptions had been correct; it was a charming place, though there was no sign of the owner around until there was a flush of a toilet and the click of a lock opening. The owner came out and caught sight of her new guests; she put on her biggest smile and approached them. Orihime thought she seemed to be very young but very cute.

"I'm Senna. How may I help in Mirokumaru?" her large round amber eyes caught a hold of Ichigo's chocolate brown eyes. She blushed, gushing in her mind about how handsome he was. Disappointment hit her when she suddenly remembered the handsome boy's female company who was incredibly beautiful.

Orihime smiled warmly, "Are you the owner?"

"Why of course!"

"It's a very charming place." Orihime complemented.

"Thank you, Mirokumaru's my pride and joy." She smiled fondly at the small shop. "It's the only thing my parent left behind before they passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Orihime mumbled, slightlyfeeling a little guilty for bringing up a topic.

Senna waved her hand and replied in an upbeat manner, "Oh no, please don't be sad. It's a lovely day and it shouldn't be spoiled by me!"

"Are you open for business?"

"I am now!" Senna giggled.

"May we come in?"

"Be my guest." She laughed and then she turned to Ichigo blushing lightly, "Um, sir, are you coming in too?"

Ichigo smiled too which left the purple head swooning, "Well it would be my pleasure."

Senna found it easier to converse with Orihime seeing as how she didn't feel the blood rush to her face, "So what will it be?"

"Is there a special?"

Brightly Senna announced loud and clear, "Strawberries and Cream!

Orihime grinned, "I love strawberries and cream!" she clapped her hands in excitement, silver eyes instantly lighting up like bulbs. She turned to Ichigo, "What about you Ichi?"

His eyes widened at his nickname she'd given him back in the school days. He merely nodded but before here could comprehend anything she had ordered the special and there they were eating cold cream and strawberries together all of a sudden.

"Ah~ so sweet and delicious!" Orihime sighed as she plopped another sweet cream covered strawberry into her mouth. She paused and realised Ichigo hadn't eaten any, he merely stared at her in amusement. She grinned, scooped another spoonful of strawberries, offering it to Ichigo earning a rather shocked look from him. Wasn't this what lover's did?

"Open up." she urged, brushing the spoon against his lips softly.

He could taste the sugar on his lips and obeying what she said he opened his mouth to take in the sweet fruit. She grinned, "Taste good doesn't it?"

He chewed, savouring the juices that danced along his tastes bud and he hummed his acceptance as a response.

It didn't take much longer to finish the bowl of 'delights' and Senna had already come to take everything back in with the same optimism she'd started off with. There was silence until Senna broke it. "So are you two an item?" she asked curiously with an eyebrow cocked.

Both Orihime and Ichigo reacted the same way waving their hands and replying in sync, "Oh no, no. We're just close friends."

Ichigo glanced at Orihime who coincidently was also glancing at him. She blushed lightly, something which failed to escape Senna.

"You too seem to make quite the couple."

Orihime blushed deeper, "Oh no, I could never. Don't you recognize me?"

Senna squinted hard for no reason trying to comprehend when she'd seen the apricot haired beauty, though a light bulb in her mind did flicker slightly she didn't seem to have anything in mind. With a shrug of her shoulders and a simple shake of her head she replied, "I'm sorry, I don't recognize you."

Ichigo leaned towards Orihime mumbling through gritted teeth, "Is it wise to be telling people your identity?"

Orihime smiled but whispered back, "No, but people are bound to find out soon. You might as well give them a head start." She turned to Senna, her fake smile plastered on. "Orihime Inoue Schiffer."

Quite evidently it was then that Sakura just realised who she was, gobsmacked her eyes widened as she pointed a finger at Orihime, "Ulquiorra's Schiffer's wife!"

Orihime grinned, "That's me."

"I'm so sorry! I just thought, well…I…I mean, you two were together so I-" Senna's tone became much more panicked as she pointed at Orihime then Ichigo and then Orihime again in a reciprocated action out of shock.

At this point Orihime figured it was best to cut her off, "It's okay. I understand if there is to be some sort of misunderstanding." Orihime jumped up from her seat grabbing Ichigo's wrist to pull him up too. "Well I guess we should be going! Bye." Orihime proceeded to run out the door, tugging a very shocked and speechless Ichigo behind. She paused at the doorway and turned to Senna. "It will be our little secret?"

Senna much too shocked to answer only responded with a nod and then Orihime was off again.

The rest of Orihime's day was spent mostly in the park though Ichigo didn't quite understand why she liked the park and not shops like most girls, Orihime had replied that she wasn't like the others and that she wanted to do something Ichigo also enjoyed. He smiled at her consideration.

"I enjoy spending time with you. It's enough for me." He whispered softly into her ear as they sat down on the top of a green grassy hill gazing at the sun set.

Orihime blushed softly at how close he was to her, his arms now encircling her waist as he pulled her close. Orihime began to feel uneasy, what if Ulquiorra saw this? At the thought she scooched away from Ichigo.

He wasn't surprised by her actions as he had been anticipating that she would feel uneasy so he released her waist and settled them into supporting his upper form from behind.

Orihime glanced at her watch, "It's nearly time for me to go."

Ichigo smiled, understanding what she really meant, "That's okay. Do you want me to drop you off?"

Orihime shook her head, "No, it's getting late and you should get back."

"Then would you mind if I gave one more gift before you go?"

Orihime shook her head. Delighted Ichigo took a hold of her hands, "Close your eyes."

She did as she was told and before she could ask herself why she had chosen to trust him she felt a pair of warm lips on hers. Eyes fluttering open she found herself staring at a mass of orange hair and then Ichigo's face. Her heart told her that this was wrong but her body told her to kiss him back and so she found herself kissing him back with the same force, moulding her lips against his and then she pulled away to take in a gasp of air. It felt wrong. Orihime felt like crying; for what reason? She didn't know but something about this situation spelt trouble and so she turned away from Ichigo and ran home hoping he wouldn't follow or notice that the tears spilled from her eyes.

_Ulquiorra, forgive me…_

**…**

"What are you doing here?"

"This is my home, Ulquiorra. You said so yourself when we were together. You and me both." Her voice seemed so serene that it became almost crystal clear what she'd come for.

"That was back then when I loved you before you broke my heart." Ulquiorra hissed warningly as the brown headed girl approached him fearlessly backing him further into the hallway of his house. He knew she was going to threaten him if things didn't work out with whatever sick twisted plan she had in mind. He eyed her very carefully as she entered his house.

Sakura glanced at a photo of Orihime sitting on his lap laughing as he brushed his nose along the juncture of her neck; she smiled sadly and turned to Ulquiorra, "I've always loved you."

Something inside Ulquiorra wavered when he heard those words. How could she say that with such ease, the lies that came out of her lips spun out like silk it almost made him hesitate to think that perhaps she really was back for him; that perhaps she was sorry and wanted a true second chance at love and not money but then another rational side of him reminded him that Orihime had been the one to fix his heart. He remembered the honesty in her voice when she confessed that she had loved him for who he was and not what he had. She was the very first to truly accept him. So he bluffed, "I have never loved you."

Sakura flinched slightly but regained her posture and advanced towards him. "I can see it in your eyes…you've always loved me and…you still do." Her voice was barely audible that had Ulquiorra not been paying attention he wouldn't have heard her remark. Then all of a sudden she flung herself into his chest, alarming him at the familiarity of her warmth. Her shoulders started shaking which turned out to be her way of showing she was crying; or so Ulquiorra had thought. "I was a fool to have left you. I know that now and now…it's too late. Now you're with that…that _whore_."

Ulquiorra firmly gripped her shoulders and held her at arm length away; giving her the most vicious and disgusted look she'd ever seen. "Don't you dare call Orihime a whore!"

"She's using you!" Sakura cried out desperately, gripping his arm with the same force as she gazed sadly into his eyes.

Ulquiorra roughly shoved her of his arms and angrily yelled out, "She's not using anybody! Why won't you understand that I've moved on? Why can't you accept I've found someone better for me?"

Ulquiorra proceeded to storm off in a fit of anger, prepared to dial Orihime's number on the house phone when Sakura grabbed his arm preventing him from walking away, "Please don't walk away from me."

"Why should I listen to you? You were the one who walked out on me." He pulled away from her hand.

"I need you." She said quietly. After all these years she just came back. Not once in her absence by his side had she bothered to call him or much less keep in contact with him and now she just appeared out of the blue wanting him back. It was too much to handle.

"I don't need you. What I need is _my wife_ and you'd better stay away from us or I'll get a restraining order." He hissed as he reached for the phone. He didn't even listen to the fake sincerity in her voice, there was no way he was going to fall for 'that' act again.

"Ulquiorra, I-"

"Get out!" He couldn't look into her eyes as her face scrunched up in sadness trying not to cry; he couldn't even look to see if she'd left the house, he could only listen to her footsteps as she ran out the house and the faint sniffles of her nose, then finally the slam of the front door confirming her exit. The images of her face still burned brightly in his head, he felt a migraine coming on.

God he needed Orihime with him, what he would do to be in her arms and inhale her fruit like scent that calmed his nerves. The phone in his hand began to vibrate. He lifted it to his ear to answer and then her voice flowed out like silk, "_Ulquiorra…_"

Every time he heard his name called out like that all his anxieties and worries flew out the window as fast as they would come, it was like she knew the exact moment to call. He wanted to sigh in relief knowing she was safe.

"Orihime…" He breathed as he cradled the phone closer to his ear. "I've missed you."

There was a giggle on the other line, "_I'm coming home soon…I've missed you too._"

"You should have told me when you were leaving; I would've come to pick you up."

"_Such a gentleman. I didn't want to trouble you, I'm a big girl and I can look out for myself._"

"Whatever you say. I'll be waiting for you, come home soon."

"_Oh and Ulquiorra, no matter what happen I just want you to know…"_

"Hmmmm?"

"_I love you."_

Those three words from her were enough to make him stand still there for a quiet for a moment and smile to himself, "I love you too."

**…**

That night somewhere in the middle of the night Ulquiorra had the dirtiest dream; after being forced to drink the tonic that Hana had provided he'd fallen straight asleep thinking that the tonic would wear off in order to save Orihime's innocence, however his dreams were very vivid and almost real about certain 'scenarios' with him and his wife to at which point somewhere in the night he'd woken with an extremely hard on. Curse his luck to have his vixen of a wife decide to sleep next to him that night in a thin clad of lingerie but it was much too to think rationally as the tonic had taken affect so he had woken Orihime up and demanded hot, rough & dirty sex. So easily she had complied even though she thought the situation was rather laughable. So easily she was going to give her body to him, much to his displeasure and now here she was pinned beneath him, hair fanned out on the pillow, aroused and wet, moaning like a whore.

Orihime let out a long loud moan as Ulquiorra's hand brushed against the skin of her thighs. He smirked and continued to nibble and kiss on her ear lobe, caressing every inch of her creamy body with the smoothest of touches as his palms glided up to her waist.

Ulquiorra could sense that Orihime's self restraint was running low judging from the way her hands gripped the sheet, twisting and tugging desperately at it. In amusement Ulquiorra decided to experiment on something, since he was sitting directly in-between her legs he was therefore close _that_ area. Without warning he gently nudged his arousal against her nether regions, Orihime let out a long cry of pleasure upon his sudden movements, her arms snapping up to wrap themselves around his neck. He watched in amusement as her face contorted in a fit of emotions, the moon illuminating every bit of her face through the gap of the curtain. Ulquiorra couldn't help but marvel at her beauty, he wanted nothing more than to claim her as his and only his and soon that selfish dream was soon to be true. He bent down to her ear and whispered, "I love you."

Orihime ignored him, lost in a sea of heated passion. Ulquiorra couldn't care less, he knew she loved him, so many times she had said it before they went to bed. He continued on as he placed kisses along her jaw line, "You're so beautiful." He inhaled her scent. Today she smelt of strawberries and cream.

Had the circumstances been different Orihime would have said something back but for now she could only kiss him full on the lips. When they broke apart Ulquiorra continued on, breathless, "You're mine."

Breathing heavily she moaned a silent agreement as her legs spread further apart, Ulquiorra bucked against her, "You'll always be mine."

"Always… yours…" She moaned out as she thrashed underneath him. When had he become so passionate?

"I'm going to ravish you until you're weak by the knees." He grunted out. Orihime wondered whether that was the tonic talking. "Fuck I want you so bad." Yep, that was definitely the tonic talking.

Ulquiorra ground hard against her and through half parted lips, she barely gasped out, "M-more…I-I want more…" She paused to give Ulquiorra a glance, eyes glinting full of lust, "Ulquiorra…"

He gulped at the sound of his name rolling of her tongue causing him to pause his movements, Orihime found this opportunity to unbutton his shirt fully. Her night wear had already been shed of her body like they were nothing more than paper with the exception of her pants and bras, but Ulquiorra's clothes had stayed on like glue apart from his shirt that had partially been open exposing his chest.

Ulquiorra nudged against her again hitting the spot that caused her to let out another mewl, her hands frozen in place as they gripped onto his shirt, crinkling it up.

_Bingo._

Through half lidded eyes Orihime could see that Ulquiorra had seemingly been unaffected, the only evidence that he was in just as much pleasure as she was, was that his trousers were restraining something hard that was poking against her thigh very prominently.

Finally Orihime's restraint snapped when he gave her one final nudge that was enough to send her over the edge to have her legs wrap themselves around Ulquiorra's waist and arch her back into his chest. "Ulquiorra…"

"Orihime." Ulquiorra breathed against her ear.

"I can't take it anymore… Don't leave me hanging…" She pleaded softly placing a trail of kisses along his jaw line just as he had done before. Between heavy pants she rasped out, "Make love to me…" emphasizing her point with a desperate and hard nudge against him.

He grinned, sinking her body further onto his bed with his own weight, "Very well my love."

* * *

A/N: HOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT, I barely remember writing this but hey at least it's up. So any guesses for what'll happen in the next chapter? Theres going to be A LOT of drama thats fer sure. Until then, enjoy your summer!


	26. Crime

**A/N: Ahhhhhhhh, it's good to be back on Fanfiction though I am very sorry for not updating but with new developments coming round I simply can't find the time to write! The good news is I will continue to write when I can but not as often as I want to. It's quite sad to know that Kubo has stopped airing Bleach which is a shame as it's one of the greatest anime's (though I am trying to catch up with the recent developments through the manga) and in my sadness I have turned to start Naruto! Who know's I may start a Naruto Fanfic! Wishing everyone one hell of a belated Christmas and a Happy New Year! (We didn't die as the Mayans predicted XD)**

* * *

**Stay with me **

**Chapter 26 – Crime**

The images of the previous night had flashed before her very eyes.

"_Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, Ulquiorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rraaaaaa!"_

It was done; her virginity was gone and given to the one and only man she loved.

"_I'm s-so close!"_

Orihime sighed incoherently to herself and blushed madly. Everything that night had been explosive; pure raw passion was put into every action be it anger, love, hate or happiness until it ended up in one mind blowing release that had Orihime mewling like mad and Ulquiorra sighing in pleasure.

Orihime had to admit it was a marvellous first experience even though this wasn't exactly the situation she had wanted to be in. Ulquiorra had still acted like a prince, even if he was half tonic controlled and when he entered her he stopped to make sure she was going to be okay, he stroked her hair, kissed her softly whispering sweet words of nothing into her ears until she had given him the all clear. He was ever so soft like he thought she could easily break; that was until Orihime threatened to beat him up afterwards if he didn't go faster and rougher on her. Oh god… she was so embarrassed at all _those sounds_, it was a miracle the neighbours hadn't called up to complain.

Orihime still couldn't believe that it was done and the more she thought about it the more she started to thrash about inn pure embarrassment. Perhaps she should have waited?

Orihime was almost certain that it was only a dream until she shifted a little under the blanket causing a sore pain to abrupt from between her legs. She winced slightly and turned her head over to her lover whose face was turned away from her, she doubted that he felt much better off, if he was awake that was. Shifting again Orihime gathered the blanket to cover up her chest and scooted closer to Ulquiorra. She slipped her arms around his waist, hesitated and lent down to kiss his cheek. He stirred a little; she giggled and removed some of his hair out of his face to gain more access for a kiss on the lips. This time Ulquiorra opened his eyes slowly, hands fisting in her auburn lock, returning her kiss with the same force. Orihime pulled away and lay quietly beside him. It became significantly awkward after last night even after all they'd been through.

"I'd love to wake up to that every morning." Ulquiorra commented quietly after a while.

Orihime, relieved that he at least was still going to talk to her, giggled and proceeded to clamber onto his shoulder with a grin on her face, "Ulquiorra?"

"Hmmmm?" He hummed lazily.

"Last night was…amazing."

He shifted his head to gaze into her silver eyes, "Was it?"

"For a first time I'm pretty sure it was." She mumbled as she intertwined her fingers in his as she hovered over his body. She spotted the hickeys she'd given him on the nape of his neck and grinned, oh yes, she was very much into biting and it surprised her to learn that Ulquiorra was too, which too explained much of the small gashes along her jaw line that rested in contrast to the bruising love bites.

He pulled her closer, a worried expression on his face, "I didn't hurt you did I? You seemed to be in a lot of pain when I…you know…" He blushed, a rare gesture that only happened around her.

"No, no, not at all." She laughed. Her eyes glimmered at the thought of something that had never occurred to her. "You officially belong to me." She mused as she grinned up to him.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" He rolled Orihime over onto her back swapping their positions, fingers still intertwined, "The way I see it is that _you_ belong to _me_."

"Jerk. We'll see who the alpha here is." Orihime replied indignantly.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Ulquiorra smirked coyly. He knew where this was going, Orihime was no dummy and when a challenge was issued she most definitely did not decline.

Orihime grinned maliciously raising her head off the pillows to meet his face just by a few inches apart, "Round 2. First to give in loses."

"That's it? First to give in loses?" he joked.

"Why? Not satisfied?" Orihime smirked. "Or is this alpha just scared?"

"No."

"Fine then." She leant closer to his ear and whispered seductively, "First one to _cum_, loses."

Ulquiorra shivered slightly at the idea and the use of dirty words, this was a dangerous game and he was not the one to play these types of games. He could always deny his girlfriend after all if they were going to be together for a long time he supposed that she'd be asking for a lot of things which he may not be willing to give so he had to learn to say no. On the other hand he would be damned if he didn't win something he started. With an arrogant look pasted on his face he replied, "Bring it on."

"Oooooo tough guy." Orihime teased jeeringly.

"You won't be laughing when I'm done with you." He growled into her neck.

"We'll see." Orihime mused giving him a playful kiss.

"Believe me; I'll have you screaming my name like it's a prayer."

Orihime giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck prepared to give him a kiss. When had she been this happy in her life?

Orihime couldn't help but sigh when she felt the softness of his hands gliding down her waist. Oh how she marvelled at his handsome features which were enough to send her soaring through the clouds.

"Orihime, you're so beautiful…"

"Mmmmmmmm."

It could have been years for Orihime staring into the pools of green depths of his eyes but before either of them could make any moves upon each other the bedroom door flew open with such force it shocked both of them.

There stood Hana, ruffled and crumpled looking like she'd walked straight through a war. Both Orihime and Ulquiorra sighed and were prepared to deal with the hyperactive old lady but then they registered that Hana remained silent as her breath became harsh and laboured by heavy breathing. Her hair had been tousled by the wind as if she had been running.

Something in the pit of Orihime's stomach moved and something in the atmosphere wasn't right. The only the look Hana possessed on her face was of absolute shock and for once a glint of fear had spread across her ancient face. As Orihime and Ulquiorra lay in the tangled sheets staring at the old lady they could feel that something was definitely very wrong.

Ulquiorra spoke first as he removed himself off Orihime leaving the princess feeling helpless and vulnerable as the cool air brushed along her abdomen where Ulquiorra's warm stomach had been.

"Grandma?" Ulquiorra asked in disbelief. "What's wrong?"

"The news. Have you seen the news?" The old woman asked desperately as Ulquiorra approached her.

Orihime sat up, gathering the sheets to cover up her body. Both herself and Ulquiorra gave Hana thoroughly confused looks. Before Hana could even reply something clicked in Ulquiorra's mind and he had bolted out the door and into the living room ignoring the fact that he was in his boxers. He grabbed the remote control and zapped on the TV. Orihime followed closely behind dragging the bed sheets along with her not caring about her dignity and behind her Hana waddled along trying to keep up.

As Orihime approached closer to the TV an image of a young pale girl in a hospital bed appeared on screen. At first glance it didn't seem to be anyone Orihime knew. Orihime glanced at Ulquiorra noting the cold frozen look on his face like a ghost train had hit him; his lips were dry as his eyes emerald eyes glinted slightly from staying focused on the television screen, he remained motionless. Orihime turned back to the TV screen and looked a little more closely squinting a little and instantly Orihime now knew who it was laying in the hospital bed. Through half closed eyes the familiar sparkle of dull amber shone through in contrast to her pale blue skin. Once shiny brown hair now flat looking fanned out in a mess on the plump pillows. She appeared to be weakly breathing though the mask seemed to be helping her breath a little better, had her chest not risen or fallen one would think she were a dead corpse. Her arms had been hooked up to several monitors each supposedly meant to help monitor her progress. Orihime could barely message the new reporter's voice but she noticed the caption below the footage of Sakura.

**Ulquiorra Schiffer to blame or not? **It read.

Orihime turned to Hana, "I don't understand Hana. What is going on?"

Answers. Orihime wanted answers; everything right now seemed to be going too fast for her to comprehend anything.

Then Hana began to sob, covering her face with her wrinkled hands. "She's framed him. She's framed Ulquiorra." She hiccupped underneath the mass of tears.

Ulquiorra dropped the remote onto the sofa, approaching his sobbing grandma. He placed both hands on her shoulder giving her a firm shake, "What did she say?"

"I don't know."

"What is going on?"

"I don't know."

"Why is she like this?"

"The doctors say that she's had a drug overdose. She's accused you of forcibly giving her drugs."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Hana replied weakly. "The police forces from District 2 are coming for you. They say that the public are going against you. At any rate there will be mutiny if this continues."

"I don't understand how this can be bad." Orihime spoke firmly as the hands holding onto the sheets covering her body tightened. "I mean all we have to do is prove Ulquiorra's innocence right?" Orihime swallowed hard.

"His DNA was found on the letter he wrote to her requesting for her presence in the warehouse late at night." Hana sobbed out through her palms.

"What?!" Ulquiorra cried out with disbelief.

Orihime shook her head vigorously, "I don't know how's she'd done it but it couldn't have been Ulquiorra. He was with me the whole night. We were…" Orihime trailed off with a blush not knowing how to explain something which the Schiffer's had all assumed they were already doing.

Ulquiorra cleared his throat, "Orihime's right. I only saw Sakura in the late afternoon. The rest of my night I spent here, alone with Orihime." He put his hand firmly on his grandma's shoulder in an attempt to tell her in an unspoken sign that he was going to be okay. "How long do we have?"

Orihime furrowed her eyebrows, hands clenching tighter onto the blanket currently wrapped around her slim form, "Till what?"

Hana and Ulquiorra ignored her as if she weren't there, "You have half an hour before they come."

Without speaking Ulquiorra took his Grandma's hands into his own, "I'll be okay. _We'll_ be okay. Grandma, go and get mum."

Silently the old woman nodded and proceeded to reach for the house phone.

"Could someone explain what is going on?"

Ulquiorra snapped his head to his wife, his voice low he commanded her to follow him, "Orihime, come with me."

She was going to protest but he roughly grabbed her arm and proceeded to drag her into his music room, shutting the door behind her with such force it was safe to say tha he was not in a good mood.

"Ulquiorra, I don't understand how this can be bad. I mean all we have to do is prove that it wasn't you, right?"

"You _wouldn't_ understand. Whatever is going on, this doesn't just affect the Schiffer's. It affects Yamamoto too. It's a political matter."

Orihime felt dizzy and grabbed a chair beside her so she could sit down to spare her from fainting like a moron. Ulquiorra disappeared into one of the cupboards but his voice could be heard. "Let me explain in detail." There was some shuffling of papers before he spoke again, "For years the Yamamoto's have been the supreme head of all district, there was once a time where a member of the Yamamoto family committed an act of adultery, at this time the district system had only just begun to develop so of course it wasn't very stable. The people of course wanted a good leader and that one act was enough to cause a mutiny in all districts. With almost all the power taken away, Yamamoto stepped down from leadership and went to hiding. For a while the people tried to govern themselves convinced that it would be a better system. However after the downfall of the economy they soon realised it just wasn't possible to keep the districts in order without a leader and so Yamamoto was pleaded to return." Ulquiorra stepped out of the cupboard with papers shuffling about in his hands. He cleared his throat and continued. "Throughout the generations of Yamamoto's they have done everything they can to prevent such pasts from happening again and though the district system has stabilised the recent disappearance of Sōsuke, Kaname and Ichimaru had been enough to make all districts weary of the situation. Being a distant member of Yamamoto myself I must follow these 'rules' to ensure that the public don't rebel."

Orihime was no idiot, she could piece the evidence she had together, "So, now that this has come up people aren't going to be happy."

"The worst part is after the development of the new rules, is that if I am found guilty for whatever crime I have committed I will be stripped off my title and sent abroad elsewhere so that I cannot return. Even Tina and Hana will be forced to bear this punishment."

"But you have your money and your holiday home in Langkawi." Orihime suggested.

Ulquiorra shook his head, "No, even those will be seized."

"I don't understand how such a harsh law can be accepted."

"It's for the benefit of the people to ensure a good leader stands."

"What are you looking for?"

"Aizen Sōsuke's contact details."

"Why?"

"I have a feeling he's behind all this."

Orihime raised her head to meet her husband's gaze, "Then…What are we going to do until we can get a hold of him?"

Ulquiorra sighed, dragging a chair over and putting up a seat next to her, "For now, all we can do is sit and wait as we watch the news."

**…**

"This is some crazy shit going on."

Beside Grimmjow, Nel nodded in a silent agreement as her eyes remained on the TV screen. Poor Orihime. How was she taking this? Even worse the Schiffer's must have been in total panic to whole morning. Maybe she should call Orihime up and check up on her. She reached into her handbag to retrieve her phone.

"I bet this is Kurosaki's doing." Grimmjow muttered.

Nel stopped fumbling and put down her bag, glancing over to his direction, "What?"

"Damn…and I didn't want ta be involved like this." He muttered again as he ran his hand through his azure hair in frustration.

Confused, Nel frowned, "What?"

Grimmjow glanced at her firm teal gaze, "What?"

"You _knew_ this was going to happen?"

Grimmjow mentally kicked himself in the head, "I had ma doubts."

"_Grimmjow_!" Nel shrieked.

He winced at the intensity of her voice, "What did I do?!"

"Why didn't you stop him?!"

"Stop who?!"

"Kurosaki!"

"How the fuck was I supposed ta know he was actually gonna do it?!" Grimmjow yelled in anger.

"You could have warned Orihime!"

Grimmjow opened his mouth and closed it trying to think of a response. Damn it, Nel had him cornered. The pressure began to build up and then he lost it. "DAMN IT WOMAN, JUST KEEP YER MOUTH SHUT! IT AIN'T NONE OF YER FRIGGIN BUISINESS!" He shouted in rage as he violently kicked the table in front of him, sending it flying off to its side.

"NO. YOU CAN'T ORDER ME AROUND." She retorted back angrily.

Grimmjow's nostrils flared, his gaze more dangerous than ever. Now he was pissed.

Cowering in fear Nel fled to the kitchen hoping to find someplace where Grimmjow wouldn't follow, no such luck when he stormed behind her, knuckles clenched and eyes alight with fury as he kicked over several items along the way.

Finally she ran out of places to run as she reached a dead end, the ever growing shadow that was overcastting her own caused her to turn round, pupils dilating as Grimmjow's nose nearly brushed her own.

"G-Grimmjow…" She mumbled meekly. She was in big trouble.

"No one. No one questions my authority here." He growled in a deadly whisper that had an edge or warning to it.

Nel shivered as his minty breath hit her. Her throat was beginning to dry out making it hard for her to breath. She pressed herself against the fridge, eyes squeezed shut as she prayed he wasn't going to hurt her.

"G-Grimmjow. Please don't hurt me…" She pleaded softly in a broken voice.

Nel held her breath when she felt Grimmjow press up against her, not harshly, but it wasn't soft either. His hot breath was fanning against her neck as his hands snaked round her waist and in a low whisper he breathed out, "Or shall I forcefully remind ya who's in charge here?"

Nel squeaked out when she felt his nails digging into her hips. This man was a bastard. A dangerous bastard not to be messed with.

When Grimmjow received no reply he shoved himself forcefully against her again, crushing her in-between himself and the fridge. Nel shrieked out again and Grimmjow sneered, "Well?"

"No, I won't question you again."

Disappointed Grimmjow released her, letting her slump to the floor as she defensively held her arms to cover the face in case he attacked again.

Grimmjow turned to leave booming out one last remark before he disappeared through the doors, "Remember yer my bitch and ya do what I say."

Upset, Nel stood up and ran out through the back door thinking of only one place she could go for comfort. Orihime.

**…**

As Orihime lay her head on Ulquiorra's lap, she began to speculate the series of events unfolding. Ulquiorra who was slumped against the headboard of the bed began to stroke her hair, admiring the intensity of red it was.

"Orihime."

"Mmmmmmm."

"You know that I love you with all my heart, right?"

Sitting up she met his soft gaze, "I've always known," She nuzzled her face against his chest as she listened to the steady thumping of his heart. "Because it's always been the same for me too." she commented lightly as she shut her eyes. "I would do anything for you."

"And I you." He responded lightly giving her a kiss on her head.

A scream of fear broke out startling the young couple. Orihime and Ulquiorra stood up, eyebrows knitted in anxiety.

"They've come." Ulquiorra muttered solemnly as he proceeded to turn away from Orihime.

"They can't take you!" Orihime pleaded out to him, roughly pulling him into her arms. "If they'll take you away, I'll come too!"

Ulquiorra sighed as Orihime began to sniffle, he cupped her face bringing her lips to his before pulling away, "Don't be an idiot."

Cracking, Orihime's vision blurred as the tears threatened to spill out, bleaching her vision of her loved one and a mass off green, black and white. She let out half a gasp of a cry and whimpers as she tried to pull her face away from Ulquiorra's hands. She didn't know why she was crying, it wasn't like he was guilty or anything. Perhaps it was the thought that they were going to be separated for a while.

Frustrated Ulquiorra roughly turned her head so he could see her face which was now crumpled as she began to cry. "Orihime," he warned, "Don't you dare cry."

She ignored him as the tears rolled down her cheek, teeth clenched together as she tried to stop any noises from escaping.

"Don't you dare cry! It's an order."

Orihime pressed her wet face into his palm as she took a hold of his hand. "I love you." She whispered between hiccups of air.

Ulquiorra leaned over, capturing her lips into another kiss as he softly moulded them together, "I love you too." Those were enough to calm her nerves for a second; she gazed intently into his eyes and saw how genuine he really was.

"How am I supposed to cope without you?"

"I promise I'll come back as soon as I can." Ulquiorra whispered giving her a kiss on the cheek and wiping her tears with his thumb.

"You promise?" Orihime asked hesitantly.

"I always keep my promises."

Their embrace was short-lived as the doors were kicked open, causing them to fly off their hinges. Before Orihime could even comprehend anything two pairs of arms had snaked round her waist, holding her into place. She saw Ulquiorra lean in to give her once last kiss as her eyes fluttered shut and then the warm lips she had felt for a brief moment disappeared and a whisper took its place before everything went dead silent, "I'll always love you."

Eyes fluttering open and vision blurring from the tears, Orihime could only make out that Ulquiorra was getting further and further away from her every second.

_No..._

Stretching out her arms Orihime tried to make sense of reality. She outstretched her fingers and grasped what she thought was Ulquiorra; so why was he still getting further away?

Because they were taking him away.

For a crime he didn't commit.

Reality finally came seeping back as she heard Hana's screams of protests, Tina's soft cries and the struggling and ruffling of shoes and clothing from the officers who had trouble with getting Ulquiorra out of the house. Orihime escaped from the arms that were caging her around the waist and ran after him just managing to clasp his hand.

_Hold on and don't ever let go…_

She screamed and screamed. She begged and pleaded for them not to take him away as one officer grabbed her around the waist again and proceeded to roughly tug her away from Ulquiorra's grasp. The tears in her eyes began to sting, blurring her vision.

"Let me go!" She shrieked as her futile attempts to rip the officer's arms away from her waist served no purpose. She twisted and turned desperate to be in her lovers arms where it felt so safe and warm unlike the cold world she didn't seem to fit in.

"You can't do this!" Orihime cried as she thrashed her legs into the air.

_Don't leave me…_

"By the law of Genryūsai Yamamoto Shigekuni, Captain Soifon is permitted to arrest Ulquiorra Schiffer." Said the officer who was standing by the doorway. This was all surreal to her. To everyone. About everything.

_You can't leave me…_

In her eyes Ulquiorra's silhouette had disappeared into the hallways and the only remaining people there were Hana, Tina and the remaining officers.

"Ulquiorra…" She sobbed as she finally gave up on movement, slinking down onto the ground beside the officer's feet, his arms still around her waist as he placed her to sit down. Arms dropping limply onto the floor she let the tears trace her cheek and fall like the rain onto the ground.

"Ulquiorra…" She sobbed again as her hair fell off her shoulders and covered her face in a heap of tangled mess from the thrashing.

_Because you promised…_

As she sobbed, her heart heavy with sorrow, Orihime began to think. Think about the only happy memories she had with him. His smile, his hugs, his kindness and above all he'd given her his heart. Who else could she share these memories with? No one else understood her like he did, and now he may be gone forever.

A pair of familiar cold but soft hands slipped into her open palms, the fingers firmly giving her own hand a squeeze.

"Orihime, it'll be alright. We'll find a way out."

Tina. How could Orihime be so sure of her words?

"He will come back." Tina's own voice was starting to tremble. She was lying with soft uncertain words.

No, Orihime couldn't rely on soft words now. She had to fight. She had to be strong for him.

Orihime removed her palms from Tina's hands and tightened them in a ball in an attempt to stop her crying. She barely took notice of Hana who was slinked in the corner, her wrinkled hands covering her face.

Ulquiorra had put up a fight to keep her safe. Now it was her turn to do something for him.

_Stay with me…_

The officer resumed his stance ready to catch Orihime in case she did anything to help Ulquiorra again. Tina remained crouched on the floor sobbing lightly.

"There's no point in running after him, I'll just drag you back." The officer warned.

"I'm not going after him." Orihime mumbled shocking everyone around her. "I'm going to find someone who can help."

Orihime headed off to the music room and began to rummage through papers until she found what she was looking for. The contact details of Aizen Sōsuke.

_Because I love you…_

* * *

_A/N: Sorry if this Chapter was glitchy, even I found the flow of the story a little different form usual. Anyway, we're nearing the end of Stay with Me; it's okay though, I'm planning to make a mini story set (not quite a sequeal and not quite a prequel if you understand what I'm getting at). Hopefully the next chapter will be uploaded quicker but untill then I'll keep you suspended about what will happen next. _


	27. Trouble

**A/N: Well it certainly has been a long time! Before you ask, no I did not forget this story. I've been having a Naruto binge out. Seeing as Kubo has stopped the bleach animations I have recently found myself very much in need for entertainment and I have resorted to watching various random animes including Naruto which I am enjoying to be honest. This chapter was written at different time intervals so I'm not sure that the story will make sense but I _hate_ to leave things alone. So here it is. A crappy, but none the less, 27th chapter of Stay with Me.****  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Stay with Me **

**Chapter 27 – Trouble**

This couldn't be happening.

After Orihime had attempted to track Aizen down, which wasn't successful, another news report came through the next day. This time it was an inescapable situation.

She must have done _something_ in her previous life to have deserved this outcome.

The paparazzi had supplied the news with images of her and _Ichigo_ from their date. Furthermore the goodbye kiss he'd given her, it had been captured on photograph in various different angles.

Orihime began to cry.

Nel, who had appeared yesterday and stayed the night helping Orihime track down Aizen Sōsuke down, encircled her arms around the auburn headed girl. It was her turn to comfort Orihime now.

"Oh Nel."

"It's gonna be okay." The baby voiced woman hushed.

"Oh, Nel." She sighed again. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"What's Ulquiorra gonna say when he sees this? What do I tell him?" Orihime trailed off before her lips started to quiver and the fresh tears were threatening to spill again, "What if he tells me he doesn't love me anymore?" From the pit of her stomach she began to feel sick.

Nel's grip tightened on her as she held the crying girl close. To admit it, Nel herself was close to crying after what happened with Grimmjow. Since then he hadn't called or expressed any concern about her current whereabouts and truthfully it hurt her to know he didn't care.

"_Remember yer my bitch and ya do what I say."_

Nel could feel her own resolve begin to crack. For now she had to stick by Orihime who seemed to be in a much more distraught situation. Nel rubbed Orihime's back soothingly in an attempt to calm her down.

It dawned on Orihime that Tina and Hana would probably be watching this too. Oh god. What would Tina say? Given their current situation Tina would probably feeling hurt and betrayed.

And Hana.

Oh god, Hana. Dear, Hana.

Hana's condition wasn't exactly the best given that the diagnosis of cancer was present. Would this be affecting her health?

Silently Orihime began to pray that Hana would be alright but the doubts came swarming into her mind like poison. What if Hana had collapsed?

As is reading her mind Nel offered her a life ring, "I can come with you to see the Schiffer's."

Had it been a different situation, Orihime would have gaped, "Nel…"

"It's okay Orihime. I'm on your side. I mean, you've helped me right? It's my turn."

Orihime began to tear up, "Nel…"

"It's not like you would really do something that bad without a reason, right?" Nel inquired softly as she gazed down on Orihime. The black bags under Orihime's eyes were beginning to show up on her pristine face and Nel couldn't help but feel responsible for Orihime's lack of sleep. After all Orihime had stayed up almost the whole night listening to her problems despite her own.

From Orihime's view she could see Nel tear up and assumed that Nel was still feeling pretty bad about the situation with Grimmjow. Orihime put aside a mental note to scold Grimmjow when things were a little better.

"Thank you, Nel…" Orihime mumbled softly as Nel offered outstretched arms to her.

…

What.

The.

Fuck.

Grimmjow scowled at the TV screen, his stare drilling into the image of the Kurosaki bastard sucking the life out of Orihime.

When had this happened?

Hadn't she hated him?

So why the fuck was she kissing him?

Didn't she love Ulquiorra?

So many questions unanswered, and it was already driving him to insanity. Angry eyes swept across the room, finding something her could punch to relieve his anger and then they settled onto a picture frame of himself…and Nel.

Instantly he was calm and concern took over his being as he forgot about the situation currently storming the News headlines.

Nel hadn't called him. Then again that was to be expected after what happened yesterday. He hadn't meant it. In reality he really did care for her but because of her stubbornness and naivety it set of his…rage issues.

As a child it had been the same but back then only the male species had picked on him because of his blue hair so there had been no hesitation to beat them up. Nel however was a different case, she was all female which meant that he couldn't will himself to beat her, but it wasn't just that. Nel had grown to someone who was special to him. Someone he hadn't cared for since the Schiffer's. It was softly killing him to know that he was going sappy for her.

Scrubbing his face roughly with his hand he made his way to the picture. His fingers seized the edge of this picture frame and almost holding it endearingly, he gazed at the unmoving picture of the green haired beauty.

"Nel…" His finger grazed the glass frame as he traced her jaw line. The picture seemingly glancing back at him with a delighted expression as she flashed her pearl white teeth.

Where was she now?

Was she okay?

He had to call her. He had to know that she was okay.

Dammit. He really was getting soft. Or perhaps he was going insane. Either way he still picked up his mobile prepared to dial her number when his phone began to vibrate. He glanced at the caller ID, shocked to see the one person he would least expect.

Almost instantly he placed the device to his ear, "Nel?!"

There was silence over the phone, he didn't care, he just felt relieved she was safe, "Where are ya?"

"_I'm okay."_

"Where are ya Nel?"

There was a long silence over the phone as if she were hesitating in giving details of her whereabouts, _"I-"_

"Tell me Nel. I want ya to come back."

She was silent again, "_I don't think-"_

Grimmjow ground his molars together and then he found himself yelling, "NEL, IF YER NOT GONNA TELL ME WHERE THA FUCK YA ARE I'M GONNA HUNT YA DOWN AN' DRAG YOU BACK BY THE HAIR."

There was a small gasp on the other end and then a bitter reply, "_Goodbye,_ Jeagerjaques."

There wasn't even enough time to retaliate when Nel had put the phone down.

"Shit!" Grimmjow cursed loudly as he threw his phone across the room, not caring when it the hit the wall and shattered.

His only chance to make amends with Nel had been ruined and it was his own fault. _Damn it._

At least to his knowledge she was okay but she was probably never going to come back. At the thought Grimmjow ruthlessly threw a punch at the wall, denting and staining it in his blood in the process, "Fuck!"

Throwing a couple more punches, he began to reflect on his past actions. Once he was done, he straightened his posture and glared at the now cracked wall. He ignored the stinging pain in his knuckles and the warmth of his dripping blood. He frowned. If Nel was not going to come to him, then he would have to go to her. But where would she be?

And, why was it that he cared so much?

It hit him that she was probably involved in the situation on the News seeing as Orihime was her best friend, which meant she was at Ulquiorra's house.

Without a seconds thought he was out the door, running towards his car. The least he could do was go over and apologise. After that he had to find some way to get himself and Ulquiorra out of this shit hole.

**…**

Hana felt very sick, her knees were buckling but they weren't about to give way yet.

"Mother…" Tina almost begged. "I'm sure Orihime has an explanation."

Ancient emerald eyes gazed up at the blaring television screen. At the image of her beloved grand-daughter in law in the arms of another man _other_ than her grandson. "Orihime…"

"Mother, you need to sit down. Are you feeling alright?" Tina's panicked stricken voice came through.

"I don't understand." Hana replied in a low tone. "Why?"

"Mother, we can ask her later. Right now this isn't good for your health, you need to sit down."

Tina's voice was beginning to sound distant.

"I want to see Orihime." Her voice held little power, but it was audible enough to be heard.

"You can see her when you rest first. I'll deal with her, please mother, sit down. This isn't good for your health." Tina pleaded softly.

Ignoring the muffled words of her daughter, Hana's feet began to move towards the door on their own accord. "I want to see Orihime." She muttered quietly, not caring for anything other than wanting Orihime by her side.

Concerned for her mother's well being, Tina had no choice but to follow, her arms linking with her mother's as if to aid the old lady. "Please don't strain yourself mother." Tina's brows furrowed in concern as Hana took a shaky step forward, almost falling in the process. Had her arm not been attached to mother the old lady was sure to have fallen, "Mother…"

"Don't stop me Tina, I have to…I have to see Orihime."

Hana was finding it hard to walk now and she wasn't sure why, she wasn't even aware that her breathing had almost come to a complete stop until her eyelids began drooping and before she could comprehend anything the last thing she saw and heard was the ceiling and her daughters face above her own as Tina let out panic stricken screams.

**…**

Ulquiorra's eyes widened as the voice on the other end of the line began to sob, "_Hana, she's- she's-"_

"No." He whispered to himself, eyes locked on nothing but a plain white wall. "It's too soon."

"_You have to hurry, Ulquiorra, she's weakening every minute. At this rate Unohana says she won't hold out much longer_."

A cold feeling overwhelmed him as he listened intently on Tina's stuttering words. The doctors lied. They had told them six months. Six months before she would pass away. Why would they lie?

Hana had so many unfulfilled objectives she still had to complete and now her fate was hanging in the balance of the doctors alone and there was nothing anyone could do to help. Why was life so unfair?

"I'll be over there as soon as I can." He responded before switching off his phone and slipping it into his pocket.

Time was running short. He had to go now. Flinging on his coat he spared one last glance at the television screen, frowning at the image of Orihime and Ichigo Kurosaki. "I'll deal with you later." He told himself as his eyes narrowed down onto the picture of his wife. He shut the door and silently slipped out.

**…**

"Hello?"

"_Orihime! Where are you?"_

"R-Rukia! Why are you calling me at this time? Is there something wrong? Do you need something from me?"

The alarm in Orihime's voice didn't go unnoticed, "_No, no. I'm fine. I'm at the hospital for a check up... Don't you know?_"

"Know what?" This phone call had just become more curious.

"_It's not my business to pry, but I saw the News today…"_

Orihime bit her lip, mumbling regrettably, "I think everyone's seen it." Was it going to be one of _those_ calls?

"_Well, I just thought I saw Hana being admitted into an emergency room_."

"Yeah, I – Wait, what?" Orihime gawked. She pressed the phone harder against her ear, hoping she heard wrong. Please let her prediction be wrong…

"_She wasn't conscious I think and Tina was crying."_

"Why?"

"_I wouldn't know myself. I just thought I should let you know_."

"Yes, thank you, Rukia." Orihime hands began to tremble and her lips quivered. Oh god, Hana…

Before Orihime could put down the phone, Rukia cut in, "_Oh and Orihime,"_

"Yeah?"

"_I'm always here to support you. I know you wouldn't do something without a good reason_." There was soft sincerity about her voice that Orihime couldn't help but smile a little. At least there were some people who were sticking up for her even if the majority of the world hated her right now.

"T-Thank you."

Rukia sighed on the other end, but responded cheerfully, "_Well, I'm going now. Renji's getting impatient. I guess I'll see you in a better time…ne?_"

"I guess."

With that Rukia put down the phone.

Orihime glanced at the clock strung up in the living room. For now she'd put off trying to find Aizen Sōsuke and focus on getting to Hana, because deep down inside she knew this was somehow her fault. She had to fix things. Fix things to the way before.

"Orihime." Nel's soft voice called out.

"Mmmhmmm?"

"Do you want me to come with you?" Nel appeared from the bedroom, her eyes showing concern.

Orihime smiled weakly, it was amazing how Nel was able to read situations without really being told what was going on. "No thanks Nel. I think I have to go this one alone."

"Oh, okay then…" Nel replied, disappointed there was nothing she could really do to help her best friend.

"You're free to stay here as much as you like." Orihime said quietly as she grabbed her black coat and keys.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

Orihime stopped her movements and thought for a moment, "You can rest here until you feel alright to go outside."

Nel smiled weakly, "Okay."

Orihime turned for the door and paused, "Nel?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for being here for me."

Nels eyes softened, "Ah…" She mumbled gently, blushing in embarrassment as Orihime left the room.

…

Ulquiorra fled down the halls of the hospital, not caring if he was knocking anything over. He had to see her; he had to see his Grandma before it was too late. He was out of breath by the time he'd reached the emergency ward and then he began to search for the right room.

He was tired, but he didn't care. Then he found himself standing in front of the god forsaken door that he never thought he would see.

Taking in a deep breath and a chance to regulate normal breathing, he placed his hand on the door knob. It was cold, just like how his stomach was feeling now. Was he really ready to see what was on the other side?

His hand tightened on the knob as he twisted it slowly.

The sight in front of him was exactly what he had been expecting. There she lay wrapped in white sheets if linen, weak and pale, her lips dry and crinkled only to be covered by the mask which was most likely delivering much needed oxygen to her body. Her gray hair was out of place, stuck up in random areas in contrast to her usual appearance. Several IV monitors had been hooked up to her arms and the monitor beside her showed the steady rate of her heartbeat. She was sleeping, judging from the stillness of her form aside from the steady breathing.

She looked _awful_.

Tina who had been sitting in one of the armchairs had her head between her hands as she let out silent sobs, and then she glanced up to her son. Her eyes were red and puffy, marring her usual serene face.

Immediately he flew down to her, squatting to her level. Placing a hand on her shoulder he pulled her in for a much needed hug, "It'll be okay mum."

Tina sniffled. "I just hope you're right."

"Yamamoto has let me out until there are some new developments on Grandma's health. He hopes for the best."

"I know." Tina sniffled again. She released her son and tried to crack a smile, "Hey now, you shouldn't be comforting me. Go talk to her. She might hear you're pleas and get better."

Even though she was joking, he couldn't help but frown, "This is my entire fault. I can't help but feel I should have done something."

She tried to maintain her smile, "Don't be silly, there was nothing you could do. It's not your fault. Now go and talk to her." Tina stood up and placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder, "I'm going to refresh myself. Do you want something whilst I'm out?"

He shook his head softly. She nodded back and shut the door behind her carefully on the way out.

Ulquiorra stood up, walking up to the bed that his grandma lay in. He pulled up a seat beside her bed and gently took her hands in his. "Granny, can you hear me?"

The old woman did not respond. Well, it was to be expected.

Ulquiorra silently spoke again, "We all want you to get better. We all love you very much." He felt silly doing this alone. But there wasn't any shame in this.

His free hand went to stroke a strand of silver hair away from Hana's wrinkled face. "You know, I don't think you have to wait long for some kids to come along. Orihime's finally come to terms with having children." He smiled to himself. "She'd be a terrible mum though." He joked, chuckling to himself. "Then again her brash ways is what makes her simply Orihime." He glanced at his grandma, "Just like you."

The old woman breathed softly. Ulquiorra smiled again, gripping onto his grandma's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, "Just you wait for the pitter pattering of tiny feet. I promise you. It will happen."

There was a small knock on the door; Ulquiorra frowned as the person stepped in.

"Mum."

"Guess who I found snooping around?" Tina smiled lightly and stepped aside.

The familiar teal hair popped over and Ulquiorra was met with azure eyes.

"Yo, Ulquiorra."

"Grimmjow."He acknowledged quietly.

Grimmjow scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Er…I'm so sorry buddy." Grimmjow mumbled, scratching the back of his head again, not knowing what really to say to his friend. He'd never really been good with this stuff.

Ulquiorra blinked and then resumed his gaze back to Hana. He remained quiet. Tina only smiled lightly, knowing all too well the bond the two men shared even though they chose not to express it.

"Call me when yer need something." Grimmjow offered.

"Hm…"

"I'm leaving. I need ta find Nel." Grimmjow stated. Ulquiorra nodded. Grimmjow turned to leave, "Oh and Ulquiorra,"

"Hm?" Ulquiorra looked up to the back of Grimmjow's head.

"It's not Orihime's fault."

Tina stepped aside to allow Grimmjow to pass through.

"See ya, Mrs T." Grimmjow grinned, giving Tina a hug.

"Pop by anytime after this mess gets settled." She smiled and she unwrapped her arms from his waist.

"Will do."

Swiftly, Grimmjow took his queue to exit, waving goodbye.

Ulquiorra's grip on Hana's hand tightened. _Orihime, where are you?_

**…**

"Excuse me! Can you tell me where Hana Schiffer is?"

Surprised at the auburn headed woman's outburst, the nurse only nodded as she leant back against the wall, clipboard held tightly to her chest in alarm.

"Could you tell me where she is?" Orihime panted.

The nurse nodded silently as she identified Orihime as Ulquiorra Schiffer's wife. "It's the top floor, second door to the right."

"Thank you!" Orihime shouted as she continued to run down the hall.

_Top floor…Top Floor… second door to the right…second door to the right…_ She repeated in her head like a mantra. Just as she turned the corner she bumped into a warm solid wall; to her surprise however when she pulled back and looked up she was met with the fiery gaze of Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow!"

He blinked down at her, eye looking significantly saddened, "Hey Princess."

"What are you doing here?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Came to see tha git." He admitted as he glanced out the window.

"Ulquiorra's here?" Her heart jumped out of her throat. _Oh God…_

He nodded silently without looking at her.

She began to stutter, "Is- Is he alright?"

"Pretty banged up." His eyes swept over to her form. "How's Nel?"

"She's pretty banged up too." Orihime avoided his strained gaze.

He remained quiet but rasped out weakly, "Could yer tell her I'm really sorry?" He paused and then added, "I really care for her ya know."

Orihime bit her lip. _I'm sorry Nel, I'm going to have to give away your location_. _You need to see him._

"She's at my house. Make sure you get her some chocolates or something, she eats when she depressed and go easy on her because she cries really easily. Don't destroy anything in the house while you're there." Orihime voiced loudly.

Alarmed at the sudden blurt of information, Grimmjow only grinned understanding fully what she wanted him to do, "Thanks Princess."

"Just don't be a jerk when you apologize." Orihime muttered giving his arm a hard punch.

He nodded mutely and gazed down at the auburn head, "Ulquiorra's waitin' yer know."

She lowered his eyes to avoid his gaze. If Ulquiorra was there she doubted that he'd really want to see her right now. With all this happening as well she didn't feel like she'd be accepted into open arms.

Sensing her uneasiness, Grimmjow grinned, though there was still an element to sadness in his eyes, "He'll forgive you."

Orihime looked up in alarm. _How did he..?_

Grimmjow chuckled lightly at her reaction, "I'm not stupid."

Orihime bit her bottom lip as she felt the tears stinging in her eyes, "He probably loathes me."

"Nah." Grimmjow shoved his hands into his pockets, "He'd be a douche not to forgive you."

"What about you?" Orihime whispered quietly, "Will you forgive me for what I've done?"

Grimmjow snorted and walked past her, placing his hands to the back of his head, "What's to forgive? You were never mine to begin with."

Orihime stared at the back of his retreating form and shouted out after him upon remembering her promise with Nel, "Hurt Nel again and I'll be sure to kill you!"

He waved a lazy hand in the air and stalked off.

Orihime smiled to herself, satisfied to get her message across. She resumed her task to finding Hana.

Mind fogged up with everything that was going on she was unable to see clearly but was able to distinguish a familiar figure exit a room.

The air from her lungs suddenly got knocked out. She gripped onto her handbag in frustration, eyebrows sewing together and she felt the tears coming again.

The man looked up and paused his movements before speaking out softly, "Orihime…"

Orihime dropped her bag. Then she cried and ran into his arms, "Ulquiorra!"

"Orihime." He mumbled quietly as he placed soft kisses on the top of her head. "You're here."

She sniffled into his chest, "Or course I am!" She removed herself form him to glance up into his eyes, "I thought I'd never see you again."

He chuckled lightly, wiping her tears away with his thumb, "I promised you I'd be alright. But this is only temporary; Yamamoto has let me out of detainment until further news develops."

She fell silent as she memorised all his features. From his dark hair to his pale thin lips. Her eyes flittered back to his eyes that seemed warm and welcoming.

In return he too gazed proudly upon her. Proud that the most beautiful thing on earth belonged to him. Proud that she had a beautiful heart too and that she was here with him, embracing him.

Then she stopped smiling and the brief shine she had in her eyes became lost. Her expression turned sombre as she pulled away from him, one hand gripping onto her straight arm. He shifted, uncomfortable about her sudden change in mood. "What's wrong?" He inquired softly.

She bit her lip, "Don't you hate me?"

He blinked, unable to comprehend what she was saying, "What?"

She tightened the grip on her arm, her black coat crumpling under her fingers, "Didn't you see the News?"

His eye narrowed, "Yes."

"Then why don't you hate me?" There was hatred in her voice. But it wasn't directed at him. It was hatred for herself.

He reached over to cup her face, she flinched visibly from his touch, he pulled her in for a hug.

"Why?" She squeaked out.

He smiled softly as he lifted the auburn strands that fanned out behind her. "I've pledged to love you, no matter what happens." He stated simply.

She pulled away, clearly still upset at herself, "Ulquiorra, I just want you to know that, that kiss meant nothing. It was a goodbye kiss; Ichigo was letting me go."

Ulquiorra smiled softly, "I know."

"What?"

"I have faith in you." He said softly. "Because you have the most beautiful heart I've ever seen." He pulled her back in for another hug as he kissed her temple endearingly, "And because you're my wife, whom I love with all my soul."

Orihime began to cry again, "Thank you Ulquiorra."

**…**

It felt good to wrap his arms around her again, to breathe in her sweet vanillary scent once more.

"I'm so sorry Nel." He muttered as he nuzzled her neck almost affectionately. She was warm and it eflt good to have her in his arms.

She responded back with the same intensity, "I'm sorry too."

Truthfully, both of them were happy to be in each other's arms again. Nel could almost cry out for joy. Timidly she brushed the back of his hair, remembering how soft it was despite the rough appearance.

He grinned.

She smiled.

And then he froze when she ushered the words he'd been longing to hear for a very long time.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"I love you."

…

"Orihime, let's go home." Ulquiorra said as he picked up her coat and proceeded to the door.

Orihime nodded silently as she gave Hana's hand a small reassuring squeeze. "I'll be with you in a second."

Ulquiorra nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Orihime alone.

Hana's condition hadn't improved, nor had it deteriorated. It was stable, for the time being. Dr. Unohana had come by to visit and examined Hana's condition. She then stated that for now all they could do was hope Hana's will to live was a strong as she said it was. Medication was not an option; it would only prolong her current condition.

Tina had been extremely forgiving of Orihime and said that she was not to blame for anything. Orihime had been insistent that she stay by Hana's side since she felt responsible for Hana's collapse but Tina had only smiled and jokingly suggested that Orihime go home and bear children quickly.

Ulquiorra had remained by her side, only leaving when she wanted something. He too had told her that she should go home and rest. Orihime merely shrugged him off despite being told that Tina was staying the night to watch over her mother.

On much more positive news, Nel had called Orihime up and said that she was going to go home with Grimmjow. The baby voice woman had said her thanks and wished Orihime luck. Orihime could only smile as she knew Grimmjow must have done something good for once.

Now it was her time to do something about all of this bull shit.

She stared down at Hana's weakened form and frowned, "I'm really sorry, Hana." She sighed, "For everything. For all the lies and deception. For selfishly using Ulquiorra for my own needs. I'm so very sorry."

Orihime tightened her clenched knuckles in an attempt to stop her from crying.

"I don't even know what to do with myself anymore." Orihime admitted. "I don't even know if you'll forgive me."

There was a long pause as Orihime leaned over to tuck Hana's blanket in, "I'm hoping you will. I really love Ulquiorra. He loves me too." She paused and thought for a minute before chuckling slightly, "Well, at least I hope he does."

It fell uncomfortably silent but the constant beeping of the monitor beside her brought her relief. Orihime fell back onto her chair.

"Aaaah. I kind of miss my old life." Orihime chuckled lightly as she gazed up at the fan on the ceiling, "Back then everything wasn't so hectic. I was just an ordinary person wondering around the streets for a purpose in life."

Her eyes narrowed, "Then I met Ulquiorra and my life was turned upside down."

She paused, "He was such a douche back then too. Still is." Then she laughed, "But he got me through tough times. For that I'm grateful." She smiled to herself, "Though I didn't expect that he would give me the purpose I was looking for."

She leaned over and gave Hana's forehead a kiss, "Thank you Hana," She smiled softly and retreated.

Orihime picked up her bags and walked out the door where she found Ulquiorra leaning casually against the wall. Upon her appearance Ulquiorra pushed himself off the wall and wrapped an arm around her waist and together they headed out the hospital. Orihime spared one last glance to the room Hana was in, "…for giving me you grandson." She mumbled quietly.

* * *

A/N: Right now I'm dying of a Chocolate overload. I think at this rate I'm going to gain some pounds which I will regret later on. Anyway I will try to install Chapter 28 when I can, until then do what you best; Favourite, Follow and Review!


	28. Goodbye?

**A/N: ****This time I've tried to upload this Chapter faster and in honesty I think it's definitely faster than the last time I uploaded. During the course I suddenly found myself with a writers block which was incredibly irritating. Somehow I overcame it but I don't know how it's effected my story. I have started writing a New Naruto Fanfic which occurred to me at night when I was trying to sleep. Feel free to check it out! **

**Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble again so before you get bored I suggest you get on with the reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach! **

**Stay with me**

**Chapter 28 – Goodbye?**

"I found him."

Orihime turned to Ulquiorra stunned, "What?"

"Aizen."

Orihime frowned and put down her coffee mug. She approached his desk and peered over his shoulder. Ulquiorra shuffled the papers around and began to rearrange them neatly into a pile.

"Ulquiorra?"

"hmm?" He hummed softly.

"What are you going to do?"

Ulquiorra thought for a minute as Orihime nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck from behind and intertwined her fingers with his.

"I'll make sure this all gets sorted. If I have enough incriminating evidence to put Aizen away I think it could get us out of this mess." He stated solemnly.

Orihime hummed thoughtfully before she asked an unusual question, "Ulquiorra?"

"Yes my love?"

"Where does Yamamoto live?"

"And why does my lovely wife want to know that?" He inquired raising an eyebrow.

Orihime lied and shrugged, "Curiosity I guess."

"He lives in District 1, his mansion shouldn't be too hard to find, it's the largest there is there." Ulquiorra stated as he began to shuffle more papers in his hand.

Orihime grinned and bent down to give him a peck on his cheek, "I love you."

"Really?" he joked. She chuckled and stared adoringly at his head drawing lazy circles on his scalp as he purred slightly whilst busily working away through the paper work.

Then Orihime removed herself off from him and prepared to leave the room. Ulquiorra looked up to see her leaving, "And where does my lovely wife think she's going?"

Orihime passed a smouldering look over her shoulder and winked, "Out."

"Where?" he demanded.

She giggled childishly, "Only girls should know that."

Ulquiorra could only watched in amazement as she disappeared down the hallway, swaying her hips in a seductive manner.

Once she was out of Ulquiorra's sight and hearing range Orihime pulled out her cell phone, dialling Rangiku's number.

Much to her delight Rangiku picked up, _"Hello?"_

"Hey Ran, it's me."

"_Hime!"_

"Can you do me a favour?"

"_Sure, anything."_

"Give me a lift to District 1, I want to have a chat with Yamamoto."

**…**

Orihime gazed up at the mansion in front of her. Her jaw dropped. Ulquiorra wasn't kidding when he said it wasn't hard to find. This house… no, mansion…was definitely bigger than Ulquiorra's. Compared to this, Ulquiorra's home looked like a garden shack.

Rangiku stood beside her in equal awe, "Woah."

Orihime turned to Rangiku, gracing her with a smile, "Rangiku, you can go now."

Rangiku shook her head, "No it's okay. I'll wait for you in the car. I was your ride here, so I'll be your ride back."

Orihime smiled, "Thanks."

Rangiku turned back to gaze at the mansion, "So what're you planning on doing?"

Orihime smirked, "Appeal to the old farts better nature."

Rangiku patted her shoulder in sympathy, "Good luck with that."

Orihime mumbled out an incoherent, "I'll need it." Before she pressed the buzzer on the gate. She bobbed up and down on her toes before a female reply came out, _"Yamamoto Resident, how can I help?"_

"Er…Hi, I'm Orihime Schiffer. Wife of Ulquiorra Schiffer. I've come to talk to Mr Yamamoto."

"_Do you have a booking?"_

Orihime cursed herself before responding a guilty, "No."

"_Okay, please wait one second."_

Orihime patiently waited as the buzzer went offline. She turned to Rangiku who looked just as nervous as she did. Currently Rangiku was mouthing to ask what was going on. Orihime only pulled a face and laughed in response

The buzzer suddenly started up again and the woman's voice returned, _"Mrs Schiffer, Mr Yamamoto has given you permission to enter."_

"Thank you." Orihime turned to Rangiku and frowned, "Well, this is it!"

"Good luck." Rangiku said again before turning to her car. Orihime grinned, unsure whether she should be excited or scared.

She pushed the gates open and stepped in. It was then a woman dressed in secretarial clothes came to greet her, "Hello, you must be Mrs Orihime Schiffer?" She extended her hand for Orihime's. Her brown eyes were soft and knowledgeable. Orihime noticed that her hair had been pinned up into a bun, just as neat as Hana's.

Orihime shook her hand, replying with a sheepish smile, "Yes."

The woman smiled, "Mr Yamamoto has instructed me to lead you to him."

Orihime waved her hands, "Oh! That wasn't really necessary."

The woman laughed, "Nonsense! You'll get lost in there. It's like a maze if you don't know your way round."

Orihime laughed shyly, scratching the back of her head.

"Well then, shall we?" The woman asked, gesturing towards the house. Orihime could only nod as she began to follow the woman like a sheepdog.

The interior design was grand, very grand, it easy rivalled Ulquiorra's but Orihime had no chance to stay and stare as she had to keep her eyes on the secretary in case she would get lost. There were so many twists and turns, it was hard to keep track of it all, overwhelming her immensely. It was then she admired the secretary for knowing her way round.

After what seemed like hours they reached a lounge directed opposite a room. The woman instructed Orihime to wait behind her and she proceeded to knock on the door of the room. A low voice responded and the woman opened the door before stepping in, she held the door open for Orihime who mumbled her gratitude and shuffled in. The woman smiled softly before exiting to room and shutting the door.

Orihime turned in front of her to see an elderly man sitting on a black chair behind a glass desk. In her opinion this resembled an office, more than it did a home.

The elderly man's eyes were wrinkled and sagged, his face sported many scars that ran along his face and his bald head. His nose was sharp and acute but matched nicely with the long white beard he had grown. Orihime noticed that his eyebrow hair had been grown out too making appear like the childhood fantasies of a wizard. He stood up and Orihime could see that he was still indeed tall despite the fact that his back had been bent in a prawn like fashion.

"Mrs Schiffer. I believe we have met before at your wedding."

Orihime nodded shyly, "I believe we have."

"Then we have no need for introductions. Please take a seat." He gestured his old wrinkled hands towards the chair in front of him and Orihime reluctantly sat down as told to do so.

Slowly he too began to lower himself back onto his seat before turning to Orihime, "And what is the purpose of this visit? I'm a very busy man."

Orihime wasted no time getting to the point, "It regards the current situation with the media."

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"I am sure you are aware of the…rumours that are being spread around."

Yamamoto nodded, "Indeed I am."

"I have also heard you sanctioned the arrest for my husband."

"Indeed I did." His voice low and solemn.

"I understand that you also want none of this as much as I do and I understand that it is also your duty to keep things in order and running as smoothly as possible."

Yamamoto nodded slowly, "But?"

"But, is there any other way to abstain from arresting Ulquiorra. Is there a way that this can be resolved." Orihime asked desperately. She was trying to be as gentle as possible. She didn't want to get on his bad side.

Yamamoto grumbled before he spoke, "Mrs Schiffer, I don't think you understand to the true complexity and seriousness of the situation. If you did, you would understand and respect my decision to detain Ulquiorra until the authorities settle this."

"On the contrary Mr Yamamoto, I understand perfectly but I only want to know if there is anything you can do."

Yamamoto shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

Orihime pressed on, "Not even with your status and power?"

"My power is… very limited." He confessed. "The decisions I make have to go through a series of people to be accepted before it can be put into place and I'm sure most of the leading captains of every district will not agree with me if I was suddenly to issue a proclamation of your husband's innocence."

Orihime nodded understandingly in a sad way, "I see."

"Mrs Schiffer, I do not want you to feel as if I am wishing you ill intentions. I am merely doing what I think is best for the nation. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"Then you too must agree that this is the best course of action, do you not?"

Orihime sighed, "Of course I don't. Ulquiorra is my husband, my soul mate. No one could agree to such a thing, however I also see the benefits of this action and to some extent I do agree. But sir, I cannot sit here and do nothing knowing my husband may go to prison for a crime he didn't do!"

Yamamoto frowned, "Mrs Schiffer, can I ask you, do you know why I made Ulquiorra the next heir to my position?"

Orihime knitted her eyebrows together in confusion, "Because your wife was unable to bear you any children and Ulquiorra is related to you by blood bonds?"

Yamamoto chuckled, "That is something the public only knows about. There are other reasons involved. First of all, Ulquiorra is loved my many of the public figures, he has a strange ability to be able be draw people's attention to him, something which would be particularly useful as a leader. Secondly he is a very intelligent man. He knows what is right and what is wrong. He will be able to make right decisions concerning how to govern his people."

"Are you going somewhere with this sir?"

"Ulquiorra can understand all these reasons for why I have chosen him, however as a leader he cannot afford to make any mistakes. He understands the consequences of this rumour that is currently circulating and he knows the best solution to all of this."

"Mr Yamamoto." Orihime pleaded softly, "There has to be something I can do. Anything. I just want Ulquiorra to be happy in the care of his family."

The old man frowned. "Anything you say?"

"Anything so long as all this gets resolved and Ulquiorra's happiness is ensured."

Yamamoto stroked his long beard as he thought for a minute, "There is one thing you can do but I don't think you would be so willing to undertake it."

Orihime's eye brightened up a little, "I'll be willing to do it."

**…**

Orihime currently found herself walking glumly towards Hana's room in the hospital. The talk with Yamamoto had gone more of less successfully, however the task she was about to undertake had indeed been something she felt like she was unwilling to do. Knowing that she had no other choice Orihime had agreed meekly and now she only had a few hours before she would depart.

Orihime knocked on Hana's door and waited patiently as Tina made her way to open it.

"Orihime, it's good of you to come." Tina smiled as she pulled Orihime in. "Come in. Come in."

Orihime followed her in and stood beside Tina who had gestured for her to take a seat beside her. From here she could see that Tina had been watching over Hana who was sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed.

"How is she?" She asked softly as she took her seat beside Tina's.

Tina smiled weakly, "Her condition is stable. They say she's out of the danger zone for now."

Orihime nodded with a smile and sat quietly beside Tina as she gazed upon Hana's peaceful form, wondering the woman would wake up before she departed. She most definitely would have liked for things to end differently, especially being able to see Hana in a better condition.

Tina's hand sought hers in comfort and Orihime smiled weakly at her, "Tina?"

"Hmmm?" The loving mother hummed.

"I'm not staying."

"I know. You have Ulquiorra to go back to."

Orihime shook her head, "No Tina. I'm not staying here with Ulquiorra or you."

The raven headed woman stared at her in shock and confusion, "What?"

"I-I'm leaving for Langkawi in a couple of hours."

Tina's hand gripped hers harder and she turned her body towards Orihime. "Why?" she demanded, the shock still evident on her face.

Orihime lowered her head, unable to bear the sad look on Tina's face, "I talked to Yamamoto for a solution to ensure Ulquiorra's…safety."

Tina frowned, "And?"

"He offered me a solution. He said if I was to leave for Langkawi for a while, until further developments come around, then the issue would be easier to resolve. Right now the public don't think too fondly of me and if I was to stay out of the situation Yamamoto reckons that people will calm down a little. He also thinks I'll be safer away from the drama."

Tina leant in, "Was there no other solution my dear?"

Orihime shook her head slowly. "Yamamoto has already booked the flight tickets and has supplied me with some money. I have already gone home to pack and after this visit I'm going to the airport."

Tear began to leak out of Tina's eyes as the realisation hit her. She wasn't going to see Orihime again after this visit. She placed her hands to her lips as she tried to fight the tears back, her eyes scrunching up and blurring her image of the orange headed girl. She placed a hand on Orihime's shoulder, giving it a squeeze as the tears ran down her face.

"I only came to say goodbye," Orihime glanced at Hana, "I wanted to say goodbye to Hana as well but I can see she's sleeping."

Tina cupped Orihime's face lovingly, despite the tears, "My dear, you didn't have to go through this just for Ulquiorra. He would be much happier if he had you by his side."

"I know. But this isn't the end; Yamamoto has given permission for visits for only a couple of weeks." Orihime added. "I hope you'll visit."

"Of course my dear! Of course!" Tina sobbed as she tucked a hair behind Orihime's ear.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Ulquiorra until I leave."

"He doesn't know?"

"I've been instructed not to tell him." She mumbled sadly. "I've also been told to ask for your permission to stay in your villa in Langkawi."

"Or course you can stay there, my darling, you're family." Tina cried. She sniffed before she wiped her tears away, trying to be strong for Orihime. "I can take you to the airport if you would like."

Orihime shook her head, "That won't be necessary. My friends are taking me." She said as she remembered the sobbing Nel and crying Rangiku were currently waiting for her in the car.

"I'll go and call Charlie to make preparations." She stood up, uprooting her mobile from her bag, still sniffling as she exited the room, "You can talk to Hana while I'll do so." And then she left the room, leaving Orihime alone with Hana once again.

Orihime decided to utilize this moment well, she leaned over her chair, reaching out for Hana's cold hand.

"Hey Hana." She mumbled softly. "I don't know if you can hear me but I'd appreciate it if you were listening." This was turning into a habit, talking to sleeping people, Orihime thought humorously in an effort to lift the heavy weight in her heart.

Orihime cleared her throat, "Remember the last time I told you I loved Ulquiorra? Well, it turns out I love him so much that I'm leaving." She laughed a little in a silly manner before gazing softly at Hana's sleeping form again, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. However, it's not like you won't ever see me again, it's more like a…permanent vacation."

Hana stirred a little but otherwise remained in the dream world. Orihime continued on sadly, "I had a whole speech prepared for you but I kinda lost it," she added sheepishly. "This new speech which I'm improvising and isn't nearly as impressive as my other one. It's a little rushed and I apologize, but know this Hana." Orihime leant into give the woman's forehead a kiss, "I will always love you, along with Ulquiorra," she stood up preparing to leave before adding sadly, "So please wake up soon, if not for the sake of me, for the sake of Tina and Ulquiorra then."

Prepared to leave Orihime stepped out of the room, noticing how Tina was standing in the hallway as if she were waiting for her exit and before she could comprehend anything Tina had thrown her arms around Orihime in an emotional embrace. Orihime was going to miss this. Miss having a family by her side to help her especially an individual like Tina was lovely and hard to dislike. Tina had been the maternal figure Orihime had always wanted.

"Take care of yourself." She ushered into Orihime's ears, nuzzling her face into Orihime's hair.

"I will." Orihime whispered back as she let the tears fall from her eyelashes.

**…**

"Can't you think this twice through?" Rangiku moaned softly.

Orihime smiled but shook her head, "I don't think I have much of a choice."

"But…"

"My minds already made up Rangiku. I think this would be the best solution for now."

Nel stepped forward beside Rangiku as she handed Orihime her handbag, "But you didn't even say goodbye to Ulquiorra."

"I think that would be best to leave it that way."

Nel nodded sadly in silent agreement, "I guess…"

"What are you going to do?"

Orihime laughed softly, "I haven't really considered that yet. I'll think about it on the plane."

Nel wiped her eyes with her palms as she started to cry.

"Don't cry Nel. It really hurts me to see you guys so upset." Orihime pleaded softly.

Rangiku began to follow Nel's lead.

"Rangiku, please don't start as well!"

"B-but we may never s-see you a-again!" Rangiku almost wailed pitifully.

Orihime sighed and put her hands on both their shoulders, "It's not like this is goodbye forever. I mean you guy are free to visit remember?"

Nel continued to cry. Rangiku sobered up a bit.

Orihime gave their shoulders a firm squeeze, "We also agreed that you would come over at Christmas for a week. So it's not like I won't see you."

Nel still persisted to cry harder. Rangiku wiped away her tear with a handkerchief, careful not to smudge her mascara.

"And I'll send you lots of pictures and I'll call you every day." Orihime went on.

Finally Nel seemed to have calmed down. "It won't be the same without you."

"I know. But it'll be a new experience." She added trying to make it sound positive. "Just like being with Grimmjow."

Nel blushed lightly. Orihime playfully slapped her arm, "Oh, lighten up! I wish you very much happiness with him." She winked, "And if he even does something absolutely stupid, just give me a ring and I will personally send over some people to beat him up."

"Thanks, hime." Nel added softly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Orihime turned to Rangiku, who looked ready for Orihime's words of wisdom, Orihime flashed her a smile, "And you. Don't get in trouble with the law. As for this, 'Gin' guy, I've only met him briefly but he seems like a…I wouldn't say dependable, but a…nice guy?"

"Yeah, he treats me well."

"Good, I wouldn't want it any other way. If he also cocks something up, you know the drill."

Rangiku laughed softly, "Yeah."

Orihime nodded her approval, "Good." Orihime glanced at the clock on the airport wall. Before turning to meet the gazes of her friends, "Well, I should get going. I want to get there early so I can prepare for the long journey it's going to be."

The last time Orihime went to Langkawi it had been a dreadful experience. Something which she was not happy to undertake again.

She gave Nel and Rangiku one last hug, making sure to squeeze them for a little more comfort. Nel began to bawl again and Orihime couldn't help but roll her eyes with a smile. "Geez, what am I going to do with you." She sighed placing a hand on her hip.

"Orihime!"

Orihime looked up past Nel at the call of her name. Her expression turning sullen. It was the one person she secretly wanted to see, the one person who she loved with all her heart and soul.

Ulquiorra who was currently breathless, began to scan the crowd until he saw the three girls and then his eyes settled on Orihime who looked equally as breathless as he did. For a moment they stared at each other like they didn't know one another.

Rangiku had noticed the lust in Ulquiorra's eyes and proceeded to tug a weeping Nel away. Orihime hadn't noticed their absence as she was too taken in by Ulquiorra's sudden presence. It didn't take very long to figure out that Tina had probably summoned him to the airport.

He couldn't stop himself, his foot had started walking towards her and Orihime found herself literally swept up off her feet as he swiftly pulled her into his arms before embracing her with a passionate kiss that left her completely breathless when they pulled apart.

"Ulquiorra…You're here…" She gasped as he cupped her head, scrunching up her hair in the process.

For the first time in his life, tears were spilling out of his eyes. "Of course I'm here!" he exclaimed adding another sloppy kiss to her lips again. "How could you do this to me?"

Orihime smiled weakly as she lifted an arm to brush his hair aside and lied, "Because I knew it would get really emotional like this."

He added yet another clumsy kiss to her lips, "Of course it would be."

And another kiss, "I love you so much."

And another kiss… "You're absolutely stupid, you know that?" …and another.

Orihime began to wonder if this was a kissing frenzy that he had. He had given her enough kisses to last her for a life time.

But deep down inside, Orihime was secretly happy that he was finally here and to show her gratitude she wrapped her arms around his waists before returning the passionate kiss he'd given her a few minutes ago.

**…**

Tina had somewhat calmed down after the emotional tears of goodbye her calm façade was placed back on. It wasn't easy letting go of her daughter-in-law, she had grown to love Orihime that it was going to be hard to live life normally knowing that her beloved princess wasn't going to be around. The positive aspect was that Orihime had promised to call regularly and send photos and updates on her condition. It wasn't like her son had divorced her.

As for the contracts Orihime had handed. Tina had made sure to destroy it so that no one would ever know of the agreement between her son and Orihime. In her mind, the contract had never existed and there was no longer a reason for it to exist.

There was just one more task she had to do.

She looked to the left and to the right before she entered the hospital room. The patient who had been inside looked up and astonishment flittered across her features at who had just entered the room.

"Mrs Schiffer." She greeted.

Tina greeted her back with a nod, "Sakura."

Sakura smiled weakly as she sat up a little straighter in her hospital bed, "Is there something I can help you with?"

Much to Sakura's surprise, Tina's who demeanour changed as she suddenly spat out, "Cut the bull shit."

"W-what?"

"You know very well I'm here."

"Mrs Schiffer, with all due respect, I do not know what is going on." Sakura whimpered out holding her hands up into the air.

Tine pointed an accusing finger at the brown head. "You framed him!" she screeched. "You told the press about something he didn't do! Because of you Orihime has been forced to leave on a temporary absence."

Sakura had no time to react because Tina had approached her and swiftly clasped her thin bony hands around Sakura's wrist, pinning the terrified girl to the wall. "You're lucky the media's got their eye on you otherwise you would be dead by now."

Sakura looked up in fear as Tina loomed over her with a deadly aura.

"Listen well and listen good," Tina hissed. "If _anything_ happens to Ulquiorra or Orihime, I will personally make sure every dog in the city will hunt you down and rip you up," Then she whispered the last part that could make ones spine shiver, "…shred by shred."

Sakura looked absolutely horrified at the idea. She gulped visibly. Tina smirked; pleased her message had gotten through. Finally, she released the girl who snapped her arms back down as she cradled her wrists to check for any injuries.

Tine straightened her posture and flattened her silky black hair. She turned to leave before throwing a smug look over her shoulder and adding, "Heed my warning well, Sakura. I don't lie."

Sakura look absolutely terrified and Tina secretly took pleasure in the look. She promptly exited the room where a nurse greeted her, "Hello Mrs Schiffer, you look absolutely lovely today."

Tina beamed at the girl as if nothing had gone on, "Why Thank You! I always try my best."

**…**

Orihime huffed sadly. She cupped Ulquiorra's face tenderly and gazed into his sullen green eyes. "I guess this is it." She mumbled quietly.

"I don't want you to go." Ulquiorra said, almost desperately.

Orihime chuckled softly, fingertips grazing against his jaw, "You and I both know it's not going to work out if I stay."

"I want to come with you."

She hushed him gently, pressing a finger to his lips, "You have your position to look after."

Ulquiorra slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, "If there was another way-"

Orihime cut him off, "I know. I know." She leant in to give him a passionate kiss on the lips before breaking apart.

Ulquiorra rested his forehead onto hers, his eyes closed as he savoured her presence. Orihime slowly inhaled his scent and etched it into her memories for when times would get tough.

He leant in to whisper in her ear tenderly, "What are you going to do when to get there?"

She sighed, "I think I might do something active, maybe get a job or something."

Ulquiorra smirked lightly, his nose ghosting over her neck, "That's a shocker. You never really liked things like that."

She giggled, "Perhaps you've changed me for the better."

Ulquiorra's arms tightened around her as he nuzzled his nose in the crook of her neck. "I'm really going to miss you." He said sadly.

Orihime sighed again, "It's not like you won't see me anymore. I mean you'll come and visit me right?"

Ulquiorra smirked at the sudden malicious idea he had. "I'll visit you alright." He drawled. "I'll come over, ask you out for a romantic dinner, take a romantic stroll down by the beach before I make sweet love to you all night until the sun rises in the horizon."

Orihime blushed furiously and hid her face in his chest. Ulquiorra could only laugh before he sobered down. Then Orihime did something that surprised him. She cupped his bum!

Orihime glanced up, still blushing but smirking as well, "I'll be waiting for it."

Ulquiorra grinned and gave her a peck on her lips, "If this keeps up, I'll be forced to make love to you in the airport toilets before you leave."

"What's keeping you from doing that then smarty pants?"

Ulquiorra chuckled into her hair, "Because you're already nearly running late for your flight."

Orihime glanced at the clock in the airport and gasped. She pulled away from him and began to fidget with her handbag before giving Ulquiorra a disapproving look, "This is your fault."

He wedged his hands in his pockets and smirked in amusement at her sudden display of hostility, "Oh? How so?"

"If you hadn't kept me here whispering dirty things in my ear, I would have checked in just in time." She glared for a while as she sorted out her suitcase and handbag before her eyes softened with sadness.

Time was ticking and she couldn't stay any longer. It would probably be a while before she could see Ulquiorra again. "I'm going to miss you." She mumbled sadly.

On top of the feeling of sadness in her heart she also felt utterly confused. How would a long term relationship work out? How would she cope? Was Ulquiorra going to move on? Would they eventually divorce?

Ulquiorra seemed pick the right moment to answer her doubts, "Promise me that no matter how many men look in your way you won't date them."

She glanced up, thoroughly surprised by his words, "Er…"

He grinned but his eyes maintained sternness in them, "You're still my wife and I don't want you going off with someone else when I'm not around."

She smiled a little, hands tightening on her handbag strap, "I promise."

"And promise me you'll wait for me."

She smiled weakly again, "I promise."

"Then you're good to go."

Orihime felt like crying. She badly wanted to cry, but she promised herself to make herself stronger as she had been before and so she willed herself not to cry. Instead she gazed up full of determination. She wasn't going to hug Ulquiorra or embrace him otherwise it'd be difficult to let go.

"I guess this is..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. The sunbeams from outside managed to find their way pass the windows of the airport to illuminate Ulquiorra, casting an angelic glow around him.

Ulquiorra smiled head tilted slightly to the left. "…Goodbye?" He supplied helpfully as his eyes adorned her features he'd so come to love.

Her silver eyes softened. She smiled back warmly, head tilting slightly with his, "Yeah…"

As the next minutes passed by Ulquiorra watched how the love of his life turned her back to him, dragging her suitcase along before disappearing through airport security.

It was at that very moment as he watched her form disappear in the crowd of people that he realised she'd stolen his heart and that he would never be able to love any other women ever again…

* * *

A/N: I'm estimating around half of you hate me right now, HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT THE END. There are still two chapters to come and I can promise you I will use them well.

Review, Favourite and Follow for more!


	29. Happy Ever After

**A/N: It is now approaching the very end of Stay With Me. Well, technically IT IS FINISHED, however the last Chapter is more of "Special" Episode of Stay with me. I feel quite pleased of this story and I think it will be one of the best memories I have when I wrote this. Hopefully the contents will match your expectations, if it doesn't it doesn't really matter because I am planning to go back on this story to proof read it and edit it to further improve it. I wish you all happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. **

* * *

**Stay with Me **

**Chapter 29 – Happy Ever After**

"Mrs Schiffer, are you sure you're all right?" Charlie chided softly as he rubbed soothing circles onto said persons hunched back.

"Ugh." Orihime groaned in disgust as she dug her nails into the leather sofa she was currently sitting on. "Everything tastes like sick and I'm so tired I just don't have the energy to walk anymore."

"You've been like that for a few days now." Charlie reminded. "Are you sure you haven't contracted the flu?"

Orihime shook her head, "No it was that dodgy milk in the freezer last night. I checked the expiry date." She shuddered after recalling the foul curdled taste on it in the back of her tongue. Even after eating an unhealthy amount of cookies she still hadn't managed to get the taste out of her mouth.

Charlie smiled softly, "Next time be sure to check your food carefully, otherwise Ulquiorra will kill me if you're health isn't up to standard."

Orihime could only groan in response as Charlie continued to rub his palms soothingly.

It had only been three months since Orihime had last seen her husband and she missed him terribly; however they kept in regular contact with each other by phone and mail. She currently had a job at the office firm in Langkawi and she was loving every minute of it to her surprise.

The situation back home had more or less been averted. Yamamoto had announced that he was going to retire very soon and Ulquiorra had been ready to step up as leader. Currently he was running around reading through reports on each district. Orihime had inquired softly on the phone last night if he was handling everything well. She smiled remembering last night's phone call.

"_Are you sure you can handle all of the paper work?" She asked softly, cradling the phone to her ear with loving care._

"_Nothing I can't handle." He sighed "In a few days I have to write up an analysis on all reports so I'll be busy."_

_Orihime pouted playfully despite the fact that no one was really there to see it. "So you're abandoning your wife for a report."She huffed._

_He chuckled, "You know I'll never do that."_

_Orihime laughed, "I know. I'm just fooling around." She curled up her legs on the sofa and switched the phone to her other ear. "You know I'm really missing you right now." She said in a slow husky voice._

"_I know my love, but just be patient. I'll visit you soon."_

_Apparently Ulquiorra remained as dense as ever when it came to these things._

"_Not that kind of missing you." Orihime chuckled evilly after conjuring up very explicit images of a passionate love making session from two months ago when he'd last come to visit her. _

_It went quiet on the other line. Orihime couldn't suppress her laughs as she spoke again, "Perhaps I should find a playboy to fulfil my needs."_

"_You will do no such thing!" Ulquiorra snapped quickly on the other line._

"_I'm kidding Ulquiorra." She assured gently._

_There was a sigh of relief before there was some yelling on the phone in the background on the other line._

_Orihime raised her eyebrows, "That's Hana isn't it?"_

_Ulquiorra sighed again, "Yes. She suspects that it is you on the phone and is demanding that I hand it over to her right now."_

_Orihime smiled, "It's okay put her on for me."_

Ah yes. Hana had woken up in the hospital a day after Orihime had left. She had been disorientated about her surroundings and was of course deeply hurt to learn of Orihime's permanent absence. As for the other issues regarding Orihime's marriage to Ulquiorra she had said that the contract was nullified the moment Orihime married Ulquiorra. Hana had attempted many times to fly to Langkawi herself but Tina had reminded her sternly that under the laws of her cousin she had to obey and stay put.

It didn't stop her from trying though.

As soon as she had gotten hold of a phone Hana had proceeded to call Orihime despite the fact it was 4am in Langkawi.

On other news, Sakura had confessed to the media that the whole situation was all Aizen's doing and that she wanted nothing more to do with him. She'd been arrested for false claims against a superior and put in prison for 3 years minimum. She'd given necessary details regarding the said man. Aizen had been tracked and placed into a high secure prison for the rest of his life.

Ichigo had managed to contact Orihime, apologizing profusely over again for causing all the trouble he'd made. She'd forgiven him and learnt that he was now currently in a relationship with Senna from the shop Mirokumaru they'd gone to on a date.

Nel had contacted Orihime through an email. She's sent picture attachment of her and Grimmjow. Their relationship had now become more intimate and serious though when Orihime pestered for dirty details Nel had refused to do so.

As for Rangiku she was 4 months pregnant which shocked everyone. At the airport she'd been a month along as she was oblivious to that fact that there was a baby growing inside of her. She was getting married to her fiancée Gin Ichimaru after her baby would be born because she had complained that she did not want to look fat in a wedding dress. Gin of course had disagreed and proceeded to state that motherhood seemed to suit her well, much to Rangiku's annoyance. Gin's cases from the past had been erased with the help of Ulquiorra and he could now resume his work, though not as a captain. Instead he served under Ulquiorra's supervision and he was content at that.

Rukia too had contacted Orihime via webcam. Her baby boy was now growing bigger everyday and he was learning new things each hour. His purple eyes had begun to lighten up slightly and he'd grown a patch of maroon hair as a result of inheriting both his parents' hair colour. Orihime could see that he would grow up to be a handsome little boy that would make the girls swoon. She hoped deep down inside that her baby would be like that too.

Orihime smiled to herself. Her friends had got the happy endings they all deserved. Now all she had to do was sit and wait for the day when she could return to her husband's side once again.

**…**

"Send these to Captain Kuchiki to run over." Ulquiorra commanded handing over a pile of documents to a read headed man whom he had been working with for the past weeks.

"What is it for?"

"The damage reports of District 6 over the last month." He turned back to his desk where on the table lay more papers to be flipped through, "I trust your Captain will know how to deal with this."

Renji nodded, "Yes sir." He slowly turned to leave.

"Oh and Mr Abarai?"

Renji turned around, "Yes?"

"How is your wife?" Ulquiorra said slowly.

Quite startled by the question he responded equally as slowly, "She is well."

Over the past three months, Ulquiorra had learnt that it wasn't safe to trust anybody after a certain incident had led to a scolding by the Captain-Commander. Ulquiorra had decided to work alone until he was enlisted the help of Renji Abarai. The two had met and instantly recognized each other through their wives and during the course Ulquiorra had developed a small brotherly bond with the read head and had recognized Renji as one of the few people he could trust within the political system, which was odd in itself seeing as how they're personalities seemed to clash.

Ulquiorra was never really the one to talk but occasionally the two would be immersed in a deep conversation and it was just as rare to have Ulquiorra ask about his family's well being.

Ulquiorra smiled, "And your son?"

"Growing up to be a healthy boy." Renji said pridefully as he puffed out his chest a little more. He was a proud father due to the fact that his son, Chitose, was showing signs of high intellect, something which Rukia's brother-in-law (and his captain), Byakuya Kuchiki, noticed and acknowledged.

Ulquiorra placed a thoughtful finger upon his chin, "I see."

"Why do you ask sir?"

"Tell your captain that I have requested for you to take a week off on a holiday."

"Pardon?" Renji choked, having almost shrieked in disbelief.

"I think you deserve a break to spend time with your wife and son."

Renji couldn't believe his ears. He could almost explode in excitement but let his jaw drop instead.

A week off!

It was rare for lieutenants and captains to take even a day off, a week off was like blissful heaven. Renji could imagine it. Rukia and himself, sitting on the porch, whilst they watched their son crawl around on the grass in front of them in the summer heat.

Thank the merciful heavens.

All week he had been running on errands for his Captain as well as various other Captains because most of the lieutenants were ill with the flu. It was just his luck that he had caught this strain of the flu a month ago. He almost fainted with relief upon realizing that he would soon have a break.

"Yes Sir!" He almost shouted out too quickly. Then he paused, "But who will take over the message duties, sir?"

Ulquiorra smirked, "Chōjirō Sasakibe will take care of that."

Renji frowned. Wasn't that man the lieutenant of Captain Yamamoto? Ulquiorra did not fail to notice the confused expression flicker across the red heads face. He sighed before explaining, "Before Captain Yamamoto retires along with his subordinates I have been granted permission for a holiday of my own."

Renji lifted his head in understandment, "I see. If you don't mind me asking sir, when do you leave?"

Ulquiorra glanced up at the clock in his office, "Actually, I leave in an hour."

"May I ask if you have a place to go to in mind?" Renji asked timidly.

Ulquiorra simply gave Renji another small smirk, "Oh yes. One place and one place only. Langkawi Island."

**…**

"_How are you my dear?"_

"I am doing fine." Orihime lied weakly into the phone.

Tina however was not easily fooled as she could hear the strain in Orihime's voice, _"I can very much hear that you are struggling to talk to me."_

Orihime sighed and confessed to her lie, "You caught me Tina."

"_So what is it? Have you gone to the doctors?" _Tina implored softly, a hint of worry carefully concealed within her voice.

"No, not yet." Orihime shook her head, "I think it was just something I ate."

Orihime could imagine Tina frowning in disapproval, "_You must be careful with what you eat my dear. It is neither safe nor good for your health to consume products beyond their expiry date."_

Orihime chuckled nervously before adding cheerfully, "Well you know me! A block head that never seems to remember anything!"

Tina also found herself chuckling at Orihime's small joke, "_My lovely daughter. There is a surprise for you within the next hour or so."_

"Oh?"

"_You will be moderately surprised."_

The last time Tina had sent a gift, it had been a large diamond pendant which was in a sense unbearable to wear because Orihime felt it was far too heavy for anyone to carry around, especially on the human body. Beside that only God knew how much it had cost. "You didn't order me another car did you? Because I swear-"

"_No, no. It's something much more meaningful. I think you will find this gift one of the best."_ Tina said quickly.

Orihime frowned, totally unconvinced by her mother in laws assurance. "Will you give me a clue?"

Tina laughed lightly on the other end of the phone line, _"That my dear will reveal itself when it arrives."_

Orihime huffed. She hated surprises. Especially the ones Tina had planned out, not because they were garbage, but because they were so flamboyant and extravagant that they were bound to attract unwanted attention. Something Orihime wanted to avoid at all costs.

"_My dear, I have to regretfully inform you that I must go now. Duty calls."_

"Send Hana my love!" Orihime added.

"_I will. We'll see you around at Christmas."_

"I can't wait."

"_Nor can I. Goodbye my dear."_

"Bye."

Orihime placed her phone down onto the charger before she stretched her aching limbs. Orihime noted the quietness of the villa and remembered that Charlie had said he had gone out to buy some food to restock in the kitchen. Humming to herself she contemplated on going out for a swim in the pool seeing how it was her day off work which only came in once a week.

She froze when her stomach gave another dreadful churn.

"Shit." She muttered before rushing off to the bathroom again, swimming becoming the last thing on her mind.

**…**

The sun was scorching hot, its bright rays burning down upon his black business suit, as he stepped out from the cool air-conditioned airport.

Ulquiorra kept his head held high as he searched amongst the crowd of oblivious people for a familiar face, his black sunglasses helping him by shielding him from the bright afternoon sun.

He hadn't been here in two months. The last time he was here was a month after the scandal broke out. It was now three months since the scandal and since Orihime had established a living in Langkawi.

Eventually when Ulquiorra turned his head to the left, he caught sight of Charlie who looked like he had just rushed over to the airport, much to Ulquiorra's amusement.

When Charlie spotted his master he waved a hand up into the air. Ulquiorra nodded slightly to show he'd seen him before making his way over to the elderly man.

Once the two were stood in front of each other, Charlie looked up to his master - whose frame of 5ft 6 towered over his own frame - and smiled, "It's good to see you again Master Schiffer."

Ulquiorra patted the man's shoulder, "It is good to see you again too. Are you well?"

"Better than I have been before."

Ulquiorra was hesitant to say something else as he was torn between wanting to be polite and inquiring about the well being of his wife. In the end the anxiety of knowing his wife's wellbeing kicked in, "And my wife? Is she well?"

Charlie smiled in an understanding way, "More or less."

Ulquiorra frowned, fear rising within him, "What do you mean by that?"

Charlie smiled sheepishly, "She is happy and naive as usual however upon drinking from an expired milk cartoon she is ill with a stomach ache."

Ulquiorra sighed and shook his head. He should have known that her carelessness would land her in this situation, "That sounds exactly like her."

Charlie laughed, "But she's been a joy to live with though. She brings so much happiness into people's lives."

Ulquiorra nodded in agreement, knowing too well what her smile could do to people including himself. "She doesn't know I'm here, does she?" Ulquiorra inquired.

His presence back in Langkawi had been kept a secret as this trip had been planned out amongst his family. It was fully intended to be a surprise for his wife who still remained oblivious to it...hopefully.

Charlie nodded, "Yes. She is under the impression I have gone out for groceries."

Ulquiorra smiled to himself, pleased that his secret had managed to be kept under wraps. For so long he'd dreamt of this day when he'd be reunited with his soul mate. He'd planned this out in so much detail so that the day he would see her again would be special for her. So far it had gone according to plan.

"Shall we leave for the Villa then?" Ulquiorra suggested.

"I think it will be best. Otherwise Mrs Schiffer will probably attempt another bakery session in which I am certain she will burn the villa instead." Charlie said with a frown as he recalled the last time she'd tried to bake cookies to take for her working colleagues. In the end that disastrous attempt had resulted in blood and tears, something Charlie was keen on not repeating ever again.

Ulquiorra chuckled too himself, "Then we must get leaving now."

Charlie weakly nodded his assent and proceeded to lead Ulquiorra to the car.

**…**

After a good deal of extreme vomiting and nausea, Orihime decided to call her personal physician to get a prescription for medicine in a desperate attempt to alleviate some of the dull churning of her stomach. Instead her physician had frowned upon hearing of the symptoms and proceeded to do a full body examination which left Orihime extremely uncomfortable.

Her diagnosis by the end was something far from what she would expect.

"Mrs Schiffer."

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Orihime wailed pitifully in a comical manner. "You can tell me."

Her physician shook her head and smiled, "Actually Mrs Schiffer, I should congratulate you."

Now thoroughly confused for what her physician was congratulating her for, Orihime frowned, "Sorry, why am I being congratulated?"

"You are pregnant Mrs Schiffer. Two months along and nearly coming to three."

Orihime's jaw dropped, "Pregnant?"

"Pregnant." The physician repeated for confirmation.

Orihime remained speechless as she stared at the doctor like she'd gone insane. "I…When…_How?" _was all she could manage after a while.

The doctor frowned, "Your symptoms match the pregnancy descriptions. You are not suffering from a stomach ache caused by the milk. You are in fact suffering from morning sickness."

Orihime could only stare at her doctor gobsmacked by the news. _What the…_

Her physician continued on, "If you trace back to the time you were last intimate with your husband I'm sure you could add it up."

Orihime tried to recall the last time she had sex with Ulquiorra. The only time she remembered was just after the scandal had broken out which was three to four months ago. That obviously did not add up. Orihime pondered over, again and again on the details trying to find a way to match her diagnosis and then she let out a gasp in pure undiluted horror when it hit her.

Ulquiorra had indeed visited her two months ago, a month after the scandal. They had indeed made 'love'; for a whole week as a matter of fact and _without_ protection.

Silently Orihime let out a small squeak as she smacked a palm onto her forehead. This was bad. This was really bad.

Stupid. She was absolutely stupid for giving into her husband's sexual advances. Damn her and damn her husband's stupid hormones which led to the pair humping like bloody bunny rabbits for a week straight.

Then again, perhaps that outfit she had purchased for special occasions was partially to blame too.

She should have _known_ that it was dangerous to have intercourse without protection. She _should _have _known_ it would land her pregnant but for some reason her brain hadn't seemed to process that vital piece of information.

It couldn't possibly get worse, Orihime had thought adamantly.

The more Orihime pondered over the strange thought of becoming a mum the more it sounded desirable. Orihime's hand trailed unconsciously to her flat stomach. She smiled to herself realising that she wanted this more than anything and that perhaps she born to become a mum. It still didn't change the fact that she didn't know how to break the news to her husband back in America. Orihime frowned upon remembering his hesitancy on having children.

What if he didn't want it?

What if he wanted nothing to do with it?

After her physician had gone over the stages of preganancy and prescribed her some vitamins to eat she'd taken her leave. Things supposedly went from bad to worse because when Charlie returned home he'd brought an unexpected guest.

The father of her unborn child.

Ulquiorra Schiffer.

He stood outside looking as aristocratic as ever. His green eyes being the only feature on his face that Orihime could easily distinguish in the bright sunlight. He stood with his hands wedged in his black trouser pockets and wore a proud smirk on his face which appeared when her jaw had suddenly become unhinged at the very sight of him.

Then she remembered that she was going to be a mum. Much too panicked to question why her husband was in Langkawi she proceeded to screech in her loudest voice at him.

"You!" She shrieked pointing an accusing finger at him. Charlie had noticed the anger in her voice and frowned.

Obviously mistaking her 'anger' for surprise, Ulquiorra smirked, "Hello, to you too."

She didn't have time to protest angrily because he had swept her up from her feet and was already carrying her down the hallway within the blink of an eye, Charlie apparently having been long forgotten by the doorway. Had Orihime been in a more favourable situation she would have thought the gesture romantic, she however, was most certainly in the _wrong _situation.

Orihime found herself thrown onto her soft bed before her husband had proceeded to crawl above her, kissing and suckling the juncture of her neck.

"Ulquiorra!" She gasped out, her hands fumbling to find his shoulders in an attempt to push him away when she felt his tongue flicker over her skin.

He grunted out a husky response, "I have been dreaming of this day for days."

Orihime shrieked when he roughly hiked up her legs to allow him more access to a certain area. It didn't help with the fact that she was wearing a dress which meant a quicker access to the removal of her panties too.

"Ulquiorra, wait!"

Her husband continued to ravish her in a hungry manner before growling out into her ear, "I can no longer wait." He pushed against her and she mewled out in surprise when she felt something very hard poking against her. "Can you feel it?"

Surprised by her husband's rough and sudden movements she could only stutter, "I-I-"

"Can you feel the way it hardens when you squirm?" He whispered out dirtily into her ear as he pushed against her body. "Can you feel the heat that burns with my arousal?"

His dirty talking wasn't helping her in the least and was only proceeding to make herself very wet and horny for more. "Ulquiorra…" She almost pleaded.

"That's right…" He leered. "You're going to be saying my name again and again until I'm done with you."

"Ulquiorra! Wait…" she pleaded again.

Noticing the distress in her voice he paused all movements before he frowned momentarily at his wife.

In all honesty he was hoping she was willing to let him take her body because heaven forbid, two months of remaining celibate was driving him insane with need. What he didn't need now was a massive cockblock when he needed his wife most.

"What is it?" He drawled, his voice having returned to the normal, calm manner.

Orihime looked up to him innocently as she squirmed underneath him, "I'm sorry."

He frowned again in confusion.

She tried to avoid his piercing gaze by looking at the window drapes. "I...I can't have sex with you."

"And why not? You have never denied me my needs, why today? It cannot be your menstruation cycle."

Orihime blushed furiously, "Well, erm. Actually, it does have something to do with my menstruation."

He raised a questioning eyebrow, as if she were lying, "Oh?"

She tapped her index fingers together in a childish manner in an attempt to relieve some of the sheer panic for what she was about to say, "Well you see, I've missed a cycle completely and it still hasn't come." She paused momentarily to observe his reaction. She watched as the words slowly began to sink in and his were widening with alarm before she continued on. "I saw my physician today and she said that I was-"

"Pregnant." He finished off for her.

She smiled weakly, "Yeah."

She watched as he simply closed his eyes and removed himself off of her without saying anything then flopped down beside her on the bed. She sat up and looked down at him with concern, "Ulquiorra."

Unexpectedly he broke out into one of his rare smiles and laughed merrily before he pulled her down onto his chest. She gazed onto his face in a dazed expression, "Ulquiorra?"

"I am the happiest man alive!"

She gaped at him, "What?"

"We're having a baby." He said softly as if her were unable to believe it.

"Yes I know. I'm the one who told you." She drawled out sarcastically. "But Ulquiorra…Are you happy…about this?" She asked hesitantly in fear for his answer. Orihime didn't believe in abortion; she wasn't attached to the baby just quite yet but she was feeling a connection on some scale.

He stared at his wife lovingly and pulled her into a kiss before pulling apart and telling her softly, "Of course I am. I have never been happier."

"But you said you didn't want a family yet."

He cupped her face lovingly, "It doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking deeply about for the time you have been absent." Then he grinned mischievously which left Orihime to wonder why.

Orihime thought deeply before she realized why he was grinning. She shrieked upon the newly discovered fact, "You _wanted_ to knock me up!"

"Now whoever said that?" He asked innocently.

Orihime slapped him on the arm in anger, "I _knew _there was something going with you when you kept coming after me for a week straight! You wanted to get me pregnant!"

"What-"

She removed herself off of him and pouted childishly, folding her arms across her chest and turning her head away from him, "Oh don't play stupid with me."

He sighed, sorry that his teasing couldn't have lasted longer. Slowly he wrapped his arms around Orihime's shoulder despite the fact that she was trying to flinch away from him. "It's not like you didn't enjoy it though." He whispered huskily.

"Ulquiorra!" She shrieked, a blush staining her cheeks as her husband proceeded to nuzzle his nose in the crook of her neck.

"For what it's worth I'm not regretting starting a family with you."

Orihime rolled her eyes. She could never stay angry at him for long because he always found a way to make her heart flutter. Damn him and his stupid romantic words. "I hate you."

He brushed the comment aside with ease, "Yes, yes, I hate you too." Then he drew her in for a close moment that Orihime was missing when he wasn't around. He kissed her forehead tenderly, "You'll make a terrible mum."

She huffed.

"But you'll be a lovely one too."

"And you'll be a terrible father." She replied stubbornly, still miffed upon discovering her husband's true motives.

But in actuality Orihime was actually glad that Ulquiorra had initiated having children otherwise they wouldn't have gotten anywhere with their relationship. As Ulquiorra held her close Orihime tried very hard to hide the smile that slowly formed on her lips.

**_***7 months later***_**

"They're absolutely adorable!" Nel squealed in excitement. She turned to her fiancée beside her who only grinned in amusement as he turned to face Orihime.

"Never thought tha prick had it in him." He commented sarcastically.

"Two in one go Orihime, that's gonna be a handful." Rangiku added with a frown as she readjusted her own two month old baby boy in her arms. "I wish you luck. One's bad enough to deal with, especially this little tyke here."

Rukia nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it!"

Orihime groaned in annoyance, "I'm so tired!"

Upon discovering of her pregnancy, Hana had immediately proceeded to spill the news to the whole world, even going as far to consider a commercialization of it. Luckily Tina had but the brakes to everything when Hana had collapsed due to over excitement. Instead, the matter did become public and Yamamoto had allowed Orihime to return to America. Orihime had been showered with so many congratulatory gifts that the spare storage room was already overflowing.

The drama however did not stop there.

The day Ulquiorra had found out they were having twins was the day he had purchased 50 boxes of Crispy Crèmes and dozens of roses lying in their house. Of course she had flat out rejected the 'gifts' because she thought it was ridiculous for someone to eat that many sweet treats but Ulquiorra had insisted that she accept it because he told her he was, as she recalled, "Absolutely in love with her."

Surprisingly he had underestimated the amount Orihime could eat due to her midnight cravings because within a week of purchasing the box of 50 doughnuts he found that they were all empty.

Unlike Rangiku who loathed what pregnancy did to her body, Orihime thoroughly enjoyed the pregnancy curves and the babies kicking. Not even the swollen limbs could bring her spirits down.

The labour for twins had been an extremely agonizing process. There were so many complications that came with it and Orihime feared the life of her babies, however promptly at 11:52pm Orihime gave birth to a baby girl and at 12:03pm a baby boy shortly followed after.

Ulquiorra who had been beside his wife and assisted the birthing had cradled his newly born daughter and instantly felt himself melt under her green coloured eyes. The same couldn't be said for his son. The moment he had held his son he felt proud and prideful of the strong squirming from the child despite the fear that he would drop the boy.

It had now been a week since then and Orihime was sitting on her bed resting her muscles and exhausted body.

Hana and Tina had visited the day before. It was fair to say that Hana had cried upon seeing her beloved great grand children, Tina hadn't been better off as she was sniffling away tears of joy whilst hugging her son. It had been hard to separate Hana from the twins, in the end the elderly woman had ended sleeping by the crib until Ulquiorra had helped his mum carry her back into his former house where she now lived with Tina.

Orihime's friends had decided to come today when Hana wasn't around due to catching the cold.

Rangiku was already discussing play dates for the children whilst Nel cooed at them. Grimmjow had tagged along only to bully his best friend and Gin had been there to take his son from his mother when she got tired. Rukia had also brought her family along to the occasion and was giving Orihime and Rangiku major advice of motherhood.

Orihime caught sight of Nel picking up the baby girl and panicked, "Nel! Please be careful! She's only a week old."

Nel pouted whilst cradling the small child in her arms, "I know how to hole a baby, hime."

"I know, it's just that…"

"She will be fine." Ulquiorra assured as he appeared in the room with a mug of Orihime's tea. He handed the cup to her and kissed her on the forehead which earnt Orihime several gasps of jealousy from the females and a snort from Grimmjow.

"Thank you," She told her husband quietly after taking a sip of the warm beverage.

"What are their names?" Rukia inquired.

Orihime smiled warmly before glancing at her twins, "The girl is Asuka and the boy is Shouta."

"The names suit them." Rangiku hummed. Then she grinned, "One of these says our little Chitose and your little Asuka are going to fall in love and get married."

Orihime almost spluttered on her tea at the naïve idea. Ulquiorra was already directing glares at Rangiku's two month old boy.

Rukia snorted, "I think my little Hideki has a chance with Asuka too."

Ulquiorra found himself glaring at both male children. Orihime merely laughed, "Asuka isn't even a year old yet and we're discussing who she'll marry?"

"You never know Hime. It might actually happen." Nel chirped from the crib as she placed Asuka down into the crib beside Shouta's. "Only the future can tell what will happen."

And for once in her whole life, Orihime was looking forward to what the distant future held for both her and her family.

* * *

A/N: And that closes the end of Stay With Me. If there are any questions to ask, feel free to PM me! The special chapter should be up sooner or later so keep and eye out for it. Until then...

animefanxxx out!


	30. The Future Ahead

A/N: Stay With Me is now complete! I'm kinda sad now that it's done and I don't think that other stories I may write can compare to the first ever story I wrote. I can honestly say that I cried whilst writing this as I'm easily attached to a lot of things. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed Stay With Me and gave me the support to keep going with this story. I hope you will all continue to read any future stories ahead. THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!

* * *

**Stay with me**

**Chapter 30 – The Future Ahead**

It was the festive season of Christmas. The Christmas tree stood tall and proud in the corner showing of its flashing lights and glinting tinsel, with the addition of the star that balanced perfectly on the top. The creamy white ceiling was pinned up with more tinsel of different colours sprucing up the area with more light and above the fire place was four small red stockings labelled with names. Along the mantel place stood several individual pictures placed in frames of all kinds of designs. In each picture stood the proud people of Orihime Inoue and Ulquiorra Schiffer and slowly but gradually in the next picture Orihime's stomach expanded until finally in the last picture frame there sat the princess in bed, looking up at the camera holding two small bundles in her arms, one blue bundle and another pink bundle. Her face glowed as she smiled happily.

Shrieking, squeals, purrs and barking could be heard in the living room. A golden coloured dog bounded over to the window upon seeing a tabby cat sitting casually on the window seal. Two baby children, one girl and one boy sat on the carpet watching the animals play a game of chase, they squealed and shrieked with excitement at their newly found entertainment. Beside the children was the sofa and reading a newspaper calmly, was Ulquiorra.

He put his papers down and glanced at his children half expecting a fight between the siblings to break out but simply seeing the glee on their faces was enough to make him smile and forget that thought. He'd never been prouder to be a father since the day he held the two small pink cheeked babies in his arms in the hospital.

Ulquiorra's eye shifted to the boy. His son had now developed black hair just like his own and his eyes were glazed with silver orbs like his mothers; on the whole his son bared a resemblance to his wife as he held the same smooth features as Orihime. The boy's pudgy pink fingers prodded the girl next to him who only wailed in response. Ulquiorra chuckled with amusement as he watched his daughter fight back with equal strength to her twin sibling. The baby girl had started off with dark brown hair that was turning slightly more reddish orange as she grew, her eyes were green, though he didn't see it, people had said she looked a lot like himself especially the sharp features of his nose and jaw structure. When both his son and daughter began wailing for help he wandered over and scooped them both up in his arms in hopes to cheer them up. It worked. They both stopped crying and had taken entertainment by slapping his chin or tugging at his ebony locks.

"Ulquiorra! What did you do to my babies?!" Orihime yelled from the kitchen. Her shrieking voice was accompanied by clatters of pots and pans bashing against wooden spoons. The dog let off a loud bark and scampered out of view and into the kitchen to see the commotion.

Ulquiorra winced as his son began tugging much harder and more painfully at his hair, "Nothing. Just focus on your cooking."

It was strange letting his wife cook Christmas dinner but during his birthday she _had_ managed to cook an edible cake on his birthday successfully resisting the urge to put anything remotely related to wasabi or red bean paste and she had avoided 'bombing' the kitchen, which in itself was an achievement. It was safe to say she knew how to cook normally now. He just had to pray that, this Christmas, the cooking lessons he'd paid for had worked.

Orihime appeared in the dining room, the golden retriever bounding happily beside her, holding a pot containing what must have been soup, with thick sky blue oven gloves. She glared at her husband as she made her way to place the steaming pot on the dining table, "You better not be letting Asuka and Shouta hit each other."

Ulquiorra winced again as Asuka began to join Shouta in pulling his hair, "They're not." He winced painfully as Asuka tugged on his hair quite violently. "In fact they've taken the liberty of attacking me."

She grinned, "That's what you get for being an asshole."

"Language."

"They're young. They won't understand and it's the truth." On that note she left the dining room to go and prepare the vegetables and gravy.

Yes, her careless attitude hadn't changed much though she'd matured a lot more after the birth of the twins and adapted to taking a motherly role, but on the whole she was still essentially the same. Rude, loud, spoiled…and far too beautiful beyond belief. Ulquiorra too hadn't changed much, though he knew one thing, his life couldn't have been lived better.

During the course of time Orihime decided that they should renew their vows at another wedding. Hana had taken a long vacation back to Langkawi, before she was to pass away, with her newly wedded husband Charlie whom she had decided to marry in the summer. She had spent most of her time with her great grandchildren that she now felt content that her life's fulfilment was almost complete.

Tina was off travelling the world, no longer too concerned with her mother. Ever since Hana had re-married, Tina found a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders as Charlie had helped her take care of Hana. This Christmas however, Tina had opted for a journey to New York which was relatively close by.

His family were all so far away but Ulquiorra didn't feel at all alone because he had a new love with Orihime and she'd given him more reasons to remain by her side. On the day she'd announced that she was pregnant not with one but two babies, it was fair to assume that he was overjoyed and over the moon.

The news had spread fairly quickly around family, friend and finally the news. This Christmas it was arranged by Orihime herself for everyone to come to their house and eat with them.

Ulquiorra scowled and placed his children onto the sofa where they could play with the tabby cat. The dog was somehow clever enough to run into the kitchen after Orihime again, avoiding the twin siblings from assaulting its thick golden fur like the last time it had attempted to sleep beside the 'brats'.

From the kitchen Orihime yelled out a quick message, "Ulquiorra! Rukia, Rangiku, Nel and the boys are coming over for Christmas dinner too; be sure to open the door for them!"

He glanced incredulously at the kitchen door as if he could see his wife standing in front of it, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"They'll be arriving soon!"

"You're cooking dinner for…" He paused to count the people off his fingers, "…twelve people?"

"Fourteen. You forgot to count Rukia and Rangiku's children too."

Upon giving birth a year and a half ago, Rukia's son, now slightly older could almost eat solid food. Ulquiorra had seen the toddler before and decided that he absolutely hated the idea of having children. Of course at that time Rukia's son was only small and of course wailed for milk often but Ulquiorra couldn't seem to grasp the concept that it was only a baby who couldn't do much apart from wail, sleep and poop. A lot had changed however due to his beloved wife. So when Orihime announced that she was pregnant he was content with the idea of starting a family though it still threw him into a panicked state. After the birth of his own children however Ulquiorra had suddenly taken quite a liking to Rukia's son, though he was still annoyed at how babies dribbled more than necessary.

"But-"

"No complaints!" She snapped. Ulquiorra understood that when Orihime was under immense pressure she was a lot more touchy about things a hell lot moodier so he thought it was best not to argue back in any way. He rolled his eyes, placed the children into their little protected play area and proceeded to head for the shower room to cool off.

**…**

"Orihimeeeeeeee!"

Orihime sighed before pointing out, "You know I saw you last Saturday so don't act like you haven't seen me in ages."

"I know but you know how hard it is with the children and all." Rangiku grinned sheepishly.

Orihime snorted, "You only have Chitose to look after. I have Asuka and Shouta."

"But it's so hard looking after him. He gives me these eyes that make me do everything for him and Gin won't help me when it happens!"

Form the living room the said man let out a 'Hey!' before his attention was diverted back to his troublesome son who was crawling his way up to a _very_ expensive ornament within the Schiffer household.

Rukia scratched her head as she entered the kitchen to where Rangiku and Orihime were. "Orihime?"

"Hmmmmmm?"

"Your cat threw up a hairball on the carpet."

"Why are you telling me? Isn't Ulquiorra doing something about it?"

Rukia huffed, "Well actually-"

There were two loud wails in the living room which suggested to Orihime that her husband was teasing her babies again. She threw up her arms in the air before letting out a loud growl, "For the love of god," She shot the door to the living room a glare. "Ulquiorra! Stop letting Asuka hit Shouta and pick up that dratted hairball from the carpet!" She snapped.

It went quiet apart from the silent muffled laughs of Grimmjow who was finding the whole thing rather amusing. Beside him Nel warned him to behave and be quiet before she herself went into the kitchen to get away from the commotion the men were causing.

Orihime smiled weakly at the sight of a very pregnant Nel, "Hey."

"Hey," Nel replied back. "You doing okay?"

Orihime huffed, "I am never organizing a Christmas Dinner party again."

The three women chuckled as Orihime rubbed the bridge of her nose, too exhausted to scold them for doing so.

"We'll help." They all chorused.

"She'll need it." Rangiku whispered snidely to Nel and Rukia's amusement.

"I'm not deaf Rangiku. I can hear you, especially since you're standing right in front of me." Orihime muttered as she savagely began to mash the potatoes into a fine pulp.

"Gee, angry much?" Rangiku added casually as three women watched the subtle display of violence.

"Ran! You know it's difficult to cook when your 6 months pregnant again." Nel remarked before giving Orihime and understanding smile.

Orihime smiled back weakly as her hands wondered over her own swollen stomach and mentally began cursing Ulquiorra for knocking her up a second time even though she had been content with the twins.

Ulquiorra had absolutely adored fatherhood and was willing to repeat the process of late nights, stinking nappies and ear piercing cries. Orihime had made it clear that she was done with anymore children. Of course, Ulquiorra being Ulquiorra had insisted on having more and had 'tricked' her into sleeping with him. By 'tricked' she meant that her husband has set up to most romantic evening (whilst the twins were away with Tina and Hana) and proceeded to lure her into the bed with him.

When she found out she was pregnant she was dangerously close to castrating her husband.

Of course Orihime had grown to love the unborn child within her; however she refused to admit to Ulquiorra that she was also enjoying the pregnancy again.

It was even more of a surprise that after Nel's honeymoon the baby voiced woman had announced her pregnancy. Both herself and Orihime were due around the same date and so followed the months of daunting shopping and unhealthy food binging much to Grimmjow and Ulquiorra's disapproval.

Motherhood had adapted to Orihime very well though the same couldn't be said for Nel. The green hared woman still had trouble smoothing out her rough edges but there was no doubt that she would be a lovely mother and that the child she was carrying was going to be one hell of a spoilt brat. The unborn child was most like going to favour Nel over Grimmjow since Nel was more yielding.

The kitchen buzzer finally went off, startling the four women in the process.

With a triumphant grin Orihime lifted her potato covered masher into the air and announced loudly, "The Christmas Turkey is done!"

**…**

The gathering had ended somewhere late into the night. After fine food and many fun games the guests had left feeling satisfied and bid the Schiffer couple a merry Christmas and a good night.

"That's it! I'm spent! Tomorrow you're cooking, my hands are too sore…" Orihime yawned as she lifted the covers to join her husband in bed.

Ulquiorra chuckled and rolled over to kiss his wife on the cheek, "Goodnight."

"That's if I can sleep…" Orihime mumbled. Ulquiorra propped himself up onto his elbows as he stared questioningly at his wife. She groaned and ran her hand through her hair muttering a complaint, "I hate being heavily pregnant."

Ulquiorra glanced at the 6 month bulge under the blankets and began to wonder what the life in there would be like. They knew from scans it was going to be another girl born in March and he couldn't have been any happier. The times they'd been through had been difficult especially when it came to looking after twins. The wailing, the night feeding, the nappies and the puking. It was fair to say the least that looking after babies was a difficult task despite doing hours of endless research on how to look after babies. However his wife seemed to be a pro at picking things up, it just came to her naturally. He assumed it was mothering instincts kicking in but then again Orihime knew a lot of things he didn't think she knew. She was a lot more capable than most people thought and whether she knew that or not she always liked to display it.

Orihime began humming softly as she placed a hand over her stomach lovingly. Ulquiorra watched silently, admiring the scene from a distance. He liked it when his wife sang, after discovering that she had a voice of an angel she had been more confident to singing often in public. Suddenly she gave a startled yelp.

He panicked and sat up, "What is it? What's wrong?" His hands fumbled around as he started to help his wife sit up.

Orihime laughed, "It's nothing. This little ones just kicking." She pointed at her swollen belly.

It wasn't the first time this had happened but Ulquiorra couldn't help but be concerned when his wife yelped like that. Because of his demanding job he didn't get to spend much time with his wife and therefore rarely got to experience the child kicking. According to Orihime he'd been missing out on his little baby girl's 'aerobic classes'.

"I think she's getting bored of mummy singing all the time." Orihime joked as she smiled down at the bulge. She leaned over as low as she could and whispered at the bulge, "You stay there and behave until you're ready to come out little one."

"You're talking to an unborn baby…" Ulquiorra deadpanned.

"She understands me!" Orihime wailed. Her stomach suddenly moved again. No doubt it was his baby girl. Orihime giggled, "See! Even she agrees with mummy!"

The belly moved again in agreement. Ulquiorra chuckled. This baby was going to be a smart one. Orihime leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I think she wants a kiss from daddy."

Ulquiorra gave her a funny look like she was talking nuts but obediently placed his head and hands on her belly. He could feel sudden movement, she was right. The baby was enjoying his company and the thought brought a smile to his lips. He gave a small peck onto the peach skin and the bulge gave a small poke in return.

Orihime smiled, "Talk. She'll sleep well and _praise the lord_ I'll sleep well too."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, his hands rubbing soothing circles on the belly, "You're going to be a beautiful little angel aren't you?"

There was no kicking but rather a stirring that made Orihime squirm a little. Ulquiorra smirked against her stomach as he held her close before speaking softly again, "Sleep my little angel. Sleep."

The stirring finally stopped and Orihime sighed contently. It was as if the child could understand her father.

Ulquiorra removed himself off his wife and fell back into his plump pillows. Orihime chuckled before wrapping her arms around him and giving him a peck on the lips, "Merry Christmas and…Thank you."

He merely hummed out a response and Orihime smiled before whispering in his ears, "I love you."

He sighed clearly knowing he was not going to get any sleep until he said the same words back, "I'll love you more than anything in this world, Orihime Schiffer."

_*** 23 years later ***_

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

The clapping of the crowd resonated through the church walls with additional whistles from the groom's best friends as the priest said the words that now signalled the end of the ceremony and the beginning of a union.

Orihime began to bawl into her husband's chest as he draped an arm around his wife in a comforting gesture.

The couple were the happiest parents alive. Orihime couldn't believe it. Her children had all grown up, received high paying jobs and were now, nearly all, married. As parents to the Schiffer children they couldn't be any more proud than they were today.

Orihime's eldest child, Asuka, was a doctor. After doing her degree early she'd rose up the ranks and was predominantly one of the best doctors alive. She was a beautiful lady and was now married to Abarai Hideki, Rukia's only child and son. The couple had married in their early twenties and despite Ulquiorra's protests with such an early marriage and reluctance to let his daughter grow up, they were happy and very much in love.

The same could be said for Orihime's son and Asuka's twin, Shouta. He was the next heir to leading district 1 and was following very well in his father's footsteps he too was in love and was engaged to the love of his life, Kyoko Jeagerjaques, the second child and youngest of the Jeagerjaques family. This of course had led to many disputes between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra but essentially the two had eventually settled down when Orihime and Nel had threatened to beat up their bodies into pulp if they didn't cease the childish behaviour.

Today was Orihime's youngest child's wedding day. Miyuki Schiffer was twenty three now and a successful lawyer who blossomed into her career. She was the perfect combination of both her parents but was devastatingly attractive and often earnt various hopeful admirers who were her clients. Today, however, was the day she would become the wife to Ichimaru Chitose, Rangiku's eldest and only son.

Orihime watched as her smiling daughter was now being whisked away by her equally happy and newly wedded husband. Her white dress trailing behind her in an elegant manner as he husband ran down the aisle to exit the church with flagrant disregard towards the health and safety rules much to Ulquiorra's distaste.

Orihime caught sight of an equally bawling Rangiku who was now approaching her way. Orihime smiled as she flung herself into a hug with the busty woman, leaving the two embarrassed husbands to watch.

"We're sort of sisters now!" Orihime shrieked in obvious excitement as she pulled away and weaved her fingers with Rangiku's.

Rangiku sniffed as she laughed and danced on the spot along with Orihime only to spot Nel, who proceeded to join in their happy dance.

Behind them Ulquiorra and Gin were frowning at their wife's dramatic display of affection. They were shortly joined by Grimmjow who was thwacking Ulquiorra's back with so much force that his spine clicked. "Congrats, bat-man. All your daughters are married off now."

Ulquiorra rolled his shoulders and cracked his head to the side. "Don't remind me." He muttered.

The three men watched as three tearful laughing women jumped up and down in glee chanting about their obvious happiness.

"Wanna get some drinks?" Gin suggested with his usual grin.

Grimmjow smirked, "You read my mind. Up for it, batman?"

Ulquiorra could only sigh as he followed his best friend out into the refreshments room.

.

.

.

"Where is Rukia?" Nel asked breathlessly when the women had finally calmed down.

The trio of women began to scan the crowd and eventually caught sight of a short woman conversing with her son who was holding his wife close by.

"Rukia!" Rangiku called out from across the church.

Her head snapped to the side. She excused herself from her son and daughter-in-law as she made her way to the trio.

"Hey guys." She said softly as she embraced all three grinning girls.

"You looked like you were having a serious conversation with my daughter." Orihime noted with a smile.

Rukia smiled back, "She just wanted to know my well being. Asuka's a lovely daughter, you should be proud of her."

Orihime smiled in return, pride welling up in her chest, "I am."

Nel suddenly squealed as she grabbed their hands, "We're all sisters now!"

The three women laughed at Nel's child-like behaviour. After all these years she still remained the same in personality and for that Orihime remained ever grateful because it gave someone for Orihime to look out for.

"Not quite yet, Nel. Until Kyoko and Shouta decide a wedding date, you and Orihime will need to wait before you can go off together." Rangiku reminded.

Nel pouted, "Kyoko guaranteed it will happen soon so essentially we're still gonna be sisters in the end." She grabbed Orihime's hand and shot Rangiku and Rukia a victory smirk, "Orihime likes me better anyway."

Rangiku's jaw dropped. "No she doesn't!" She huffed indignantly.

Sensing a 'bitch-fight' – as Grimmjow would call it – about the break out, Orihime stepped in and placed her hands in the air in a calming gesture, "I love you guys equally."

Rukia smiled and decided to lend Orihime a hand, "Who's up for tequila?"

"I am!" Nel shrieked almost immediately.

"Oooooo that sounds naughty. I'm in!" Rangiku purred.

Orihime shot Rukia a look of pure shock, "Rukia! You sinful child!"

Rukia sent Orihime a shrug, "You gotta live a little. You in or what?"

Orihime's lips formed into a smirk, "Absolutely."

Arm in arm, the four women set out after their husbands and very much needed drinks.

**…_The Future Onwards…_**

On a grey afternoon in March 30th, after 90 years of life, Orihime Inoue Schiffer, in the presence of her family, finally passed away in her sleep.

The Schiffer siblings who were gathered around her bedside wished their mother and final farewell each taking turns to give the old lady a kiss on the forehead before leaving the bedroom and waiting outside.

When the youngest Schiffer was the last to emerge from the room she began to sob silently. The eldest Schiffer wrapped a consoling arm around her sister, bringing her close to her side, "It's okay Miyuki. Mum passed away the way she wanted to."

"I know, Asuka." Miyuki sighed as she wiped away her tears. "I'm glad she passed away without pain."

The two sisters glanced at their elder brother who looked like he wanted to join them in a hug.

"Come here Shouta." Asuka said softly as she wrapped her other arm around her twin. Though he wasn't crying he was still very much upset, after all, he'd been a mummy's boy.

Feeling concern for his youngest sister, Shouta began to draw Miyuki towards him, "She's with dad now."

Asuka glanced out a window, expecting to see rain only to be met with sun beams that made their way past the clouds, "Ironic, isn't it?"

"What?" the other two siblings questioned.

"Mum always said that when she would die she would always live on in the sun and light up the world with her love. Cheesy, but it's true."

Miyuki smiled softly, "She was stubborn though. Out of all of them, she was the last to go."

Prior to fairly recent events, Orihime's friend had all passed away naturally of old age along with their husbands. Ulquiorra and Orihime were the oldest to survive. Ulquiorra had died a ripe old age of 89 but Orihime had lived on for another year to make sure her children were alright and for that, they were ever grateful to their mother.

Shouta chuckled, patting his sisters shoulders gently, "That's mum for you, always reluctant to leave her kids."

"Speaking of kids…" Asuka suddenly said. "Wanna get the kids together sometime?" She offered to her siblings. "I'm sure that they need some time together since their favourite grandma just passed away."

Miyuki smiled softly at her eldest sibling, "I'm up for it."

Two sets of emerald green eyes turned to their brother, waiting for a reply. He rolled his silver eyes and shrugged, "Why not? I'm sure they're missing their cousins."

And together hand in hand, the three siblings left the house basked in the warm rays of sunlight, happy with the knowledge that somewhere up there, their mother and father were reunited, smiling and holding each other whilst looking down upon them; guiding them and protecting them through the future ahead.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. For any of those confused I have provided a table for who had how many kids and who married who and such:

**Orihime and Ulquiorra:**  
1. Asuka Schiffer (Abarai) +  
2. Shouta Schiffer -  
3. Miyuki Schiffer (Ichimaru) *

**Nel and Grimmjow: **  
1. Unknown Son  
2. Kyoko Jeagerjaques (Schiffer) -

**Rangiku and Gin:**   
1. Chitose Ichimaru *  
2. Unknown Daughter

**Rukia and Renji: **  
1. Hideki Abarai +

Thank you again for reading Stay With Me! With this now complete I can focus on my other stories. Any updates from this will be me going back and correcting my errors and improving scenes.

_Adieu._


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